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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: straw · content · mouse · rule · ball · shower · racket · trunk

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. shower — rain
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rule — a law
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a great time
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. content — happy
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. rule — government
  24. content — the amount

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