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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: cap · trunk · fork · drill · toast · tear

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. drill — the tool
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. fork — in a road
  5. drill — army training
  6. cap — of ice
  7. tear — from crying
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. toast — bread
  12. cap — a hat
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. tear — to rip
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. cap — a lid

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