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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: track · bat · lie · bear · trunk · wound · cold · bowl

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. track — a song
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bat — the animal
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cold — an illness
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. track — a path
  24. wound — an injury

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