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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · pound · nail · trunk · cell · bear · shower · band

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. band — a music group
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. bear — the animal
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. key — the most important part
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cell — a phone
  11. key — in music
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. shower — rain
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. bear — the animal
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. key — for a lock
  23. band — a ring
  24. cell — in biology

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com