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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: trunk · bound · coach · tube · fall · field · tear · kick

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fall — to drop
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. tube — a container
  6. field — farmland
  7. bound — tied together
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bound — obliged
  13. tear — to rip
  14. field — a subject
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fall — to drop
  18. tube — the underground
  19. bound — certain
  20. kick — in football
  21. field — for sport
  22. fall — the season
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kick — with a leg

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