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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: wind · trunk · pop · drill · land · leaves · track · deal

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. deal — to handle
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. pop — to visit
  5. track — to keep track
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. land — ground
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. pop — soda
  12. track — a song
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pop — music
  18. track — a path
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. land — a country
  21. drill — a practice
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. land — to come down
  24. leaves — lets stay

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