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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: chest · bore · bowl · pop · cap · fan · wake · trunk

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. pop — soda
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. chest — a box
  8. bore — to tire
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pop — music
  12. pop — to visit
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cap — of ice
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bore — to drill
  24. trunk — of a tree

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