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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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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: bat · shower · trunk · march · content · band · kid · safe

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. kid — to tease
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — happy
  7. march — music
  8. shower — to wash
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a music group
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. band — a ring
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. march — the month
  22. kid — child
  23. shower — rain
  24. band — a rubber band

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