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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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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: chair · wind · trunk · can · arm · last · shower · kid

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. shower — rain
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. wind — moving air
  7. last — finally
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. can — to be able to
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. can — a tin
  16. chair — a leader
  17. last — to go on
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. last — final
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — to wash
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. kid — child

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