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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: chip · trunk · cap · scale · shower · bark · bound · mine

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. bound — tied together
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. scale — size or range
  7. chip — for betting
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — obliged
  10. cap — a lid
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. chip — to eat
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. shower — rain
  16. cap — a hat
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bark — to shout
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cap — of ice
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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