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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 · ball · mine · cabinet · craft · hand · fall · swing

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. ball — a great time
  4. swing — to play on
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — boats
  7. hand — help
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fall — the season
  10. swing — in golf
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. swing — music
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. mine — for digging
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hand — in cards
  22. ball — a dance
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cabinet — ministers

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