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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 120 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: land · trunk · rash · bank · perch · shower · degree · track

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. shower — rain
  3. track — a song
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. bank — for money
  7. land — a country
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. track — a path
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bank — of a river
  14. track — to keep track
  15. degree — from a university
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bank — for money
  20. rash — a series
  21. perch — the fish
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rash — hasty
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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