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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: racket · track · cell · shower · swing · wake · trunk · spring

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cell — in biology
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. spring — of water
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a song
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. shower — to wash
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. track — a path
  19. wake — a trail
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. swing — music
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. shower — rain
  24. swing — in golf

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