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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: pop · hand · trunk · bore · calf · wound · spring · row

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. pop — music
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. pop — soda
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bore — to drill
  7. spring — the season
  8. row — a line
  9. wound — an injury
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. row — to paddle
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. spring — of water
  19. hand — help
  20. pop — to visit
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. spring — a coil
  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