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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: coach · date · wind · craft · bark · trunk · bowl · stem

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. date — the fruit
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wind — moving air
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. craft — a skill
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. bark — to shout
  17. craft — boats
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. stem — of a plant
  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