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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: march · bound · rest · trunk · pit · shower · spring · lean

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pit — in a race
  4. march — music
  5. lean — to bend
  6. spring — the season
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. bound — tied together
  9. rest — what's left
  10. shower — rain
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pit — a hole
  13. rest — a break
  14. march — the month
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. spring — of water
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bound — obliged
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. march — the month
  23. bound — certain
  24. lean — thin

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