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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: shower · field · trunk · degree · board · kick · bulb · date

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. degree — temperature
  3. shower — to wash
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. kick — in football
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. degree — an amount
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. field — a subject
  16. bulb — for light
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bulb — for light
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — farmland

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