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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: shower · spring · firm · mug · chest · bark · wake · trunk

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. shower — rain
  3. mug — to rob
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. mug — a cup
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. firm — steady
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. chest — of your body
  10. spring — of water
  11. chest — a box
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. spring — a coil
  14. chest — of your body
  15. shower — to wash
  16. spring — the season
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. firm — a company
  19. bark — to shout
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. firm — decided
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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