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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 120 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: mug · march · chest · nail · trunk · track · shower · coach

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. track — a song
  4. mug — to rob
  5. mug — a face
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. march — the month
  8. chest — of your body
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. march — the month
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. mug — a cup
  15. track — a path
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. shower — rain
  19. chest — of your body
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. chest — a box
  22. track — to keep track
  23. march — music
  24. trunk — of a tree

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