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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 116 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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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: stand · tear · scale · bass · shower · trunk · pound · bat

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. stand — on your feet
  2. shower — rain
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pound — a weight
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. shower — to wash
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bat — the animal
  14. scale — size or range
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. scale — in music
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bass — the fish
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bass — low music
  23. bat — for baseball
  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