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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: pop · bore · straw · wind · trunk · tear · club · ball

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. ball — a great time
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bore — to drill
  6. bore — to tire
  7. pop — soda
  8. club — for dancing
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. club — for golf
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. club — a group
  18. pop — music
  19. tear — from crying
  20. ball — a dance
  21. wind — moving air
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. ball — a round shape

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