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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: trunk · mine · net · land · bass · shower · saw · bay

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — to come down
  3. saw — the tool
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. land — ground
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. shower — rain
  8. net — in sport
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bass — the fish
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — low music
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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