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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: trunk · pass · wake · last · shower · pit · hand · row

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. shower — rain
  4. last — to go on
  5. pit — in a race
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. last — finally
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pit — a hole
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. hand — help
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — a trail
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. last — final
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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