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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: bear · trunk · cold · march · key · bore · root · band

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. root — of a word
  4. bore — to drill
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. band — a ring
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. cold — an illness
  10. key — the most important part
  11. bore — to tire
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bear — the animal
  14. root — of a plant
  15. cold — not warm
  16. march — the month
  17. bear — the animal
  18. march — the month
  19. key — for a lock
  20. march — music
  21. root — the cause
  22. key — in music
  23. band — a music group
  24. bear — to put up with

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