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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
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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: club · shower · wound · cabinet · race · trunk · mine · mug

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. club — for dancing
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. race — the arms race
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mine — for digging
  7. club — a group
  8. mug — to rob
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. mug — a face
  15. shower — rain
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. race — humankind
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. wound — an injury
  20. race — a contest
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. shower — to wash
  23. club — for golf
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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