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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: key · straw · fork · spell · snap · trunk · shower · ball

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spell — magic
  4. ball — a dance
  5. key — the most important part
  6. spell — letters
  7. fork — in a road
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. ball — a great time
  19. key — in music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. shower — to wash
  22. spell — a short time
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. key — for a lock

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