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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: sharp · trunk · cold · ball · bowl · bore · patient · season

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. season — of the year
  3. cold — an illness
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bore — to tire
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. ball — a dance
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. ball — a great time

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