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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 120 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: present · tear · hand · trunk · bound · current · bowl · cap

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. present — a gift
  3. bound — obliged
  4. cap — a lid
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. present — the time now
  7. current — electric
  8. tear — to rip
  9. current — happening now
  10. cap — a hat
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bound — certain
  13. bound — tied together
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. cap — of ice
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. present — there
  24. current — of water

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