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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: rash · cell · trunk · mouse · band · swing · shower · clip

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rash — a series
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. swing — to play on
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. cell — a phone
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. band — a music group
  14. clip — to cut
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. band — a ring
  17. shower — rain
  18. rash — hasty
  19. shower — to wash
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. swing — in golf
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cell — in biology
  24. swing — music

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