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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: field · lie · trunk · cue · track · wind · shower · kick

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cue — for pool
  6. field — farmland
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. track — a path
  11. shower — rain
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. track — to keep track
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. track — a song
  18. field — for sport
  19. cue — a signal
  20. field — a subject
  21. cue — a hint
  22. lie — to recline
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. kick — in football

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