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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: drill · bank · wind · kid · craft · trunk

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. drill — a practice
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. bank — for money
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bank — of a river
  9. craft — a skill
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — to tease
  12. kid — child
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. wind — moving air
  15. drill — army training
  16. craft — boats
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bank — for money

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