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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: shower · club · trunk · bore · pound · cold · face · deal

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. club — for dancing
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. face — part of the head
  6. deal — to handle
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cold — not warm
  9. shower — rain
  10. cold — an illness
  11. face — to point toward
  12. club — for golf
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. face — to confront
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bore — to drill
  17. club — a group
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. bore — to tire
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. pound — a weight
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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