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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
468
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 · lie · season · trunk · stand · bat · swing · shower

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. club — for dancing
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. club — for golf
  14. club — a group
  15. swing — to play on
  16. season — in sport
  17. swing — music
  18. season — of the year
  19. shower — rain
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. swing — in golf
  22. stand — to bear
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bat — the animal

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