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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: plane · fan · fine · trunk · roll · capital · drill · cold

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. drill — a practice
  3. plane — a tool
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fine — all right
  7. cold — an illness
  8. drill — the tool
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. cold — not warm
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. roll — a list
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. roll — a cake
  17. fine — high quality
  18. capital — money
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. drill — army training
  24. cold — the Cold War

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