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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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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: trunk · mate · bat · chest · shower · rest · fall · season

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. mate — a friend
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. shower — rain
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. season — in sport
  10. fall — the season
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. mate — to breed
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fall — to drop
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mate — a partner
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. rest — what's left
  24. season — of the year

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