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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: drill · march · trunk · face · spring · shower · arm · prune

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. shower — rain
  3. face — part of the head
  4. march — the month
  5. face — to confront
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. prune — to trim
  9. face — to point toward
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. prune — to trim
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. spring — a coil
  17. shower — to wash
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spring — the season
  20. drill — army training
  21. spring — of water
  22. march — the month
  23. march — music
  24. prune — the fruit

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