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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · trunk · pitcher · track · straw · stand · rest · bark

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. track — to keep track
  7. stand — to bear
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rest — a break
  10. track — a song
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bark — to shout
  14. shower — rain
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. rest — what's left
  18. track — a path
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stand — for spectators

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