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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: cap · can · shower · object · kid · ground · trunk · sharp

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. can — to be able to
  3. kid — child
  4. object — an aim
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. can — a tin
  8. cap — a lid
  9. ground — a position
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ground — the earth
  13. ground — crushed
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. object — a thing
  19. sharp — clever
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. can — a tin
  22. shower — rain
  23. kid — to tease
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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