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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pitcher · bore · wind · trunk · last · file · bear · court

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. last — finally
  7. court — of a king
  8. wind — moving air
  9. last — final
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. court — of law
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. last — to go on
  17. file — a line of people
  18. bore — to drill
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. court — for sport
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bore — to tire

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