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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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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 · wind · straw · press · fork · cold · bore · fall

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. press — to push
  4. press — newspapers
  5. bore — to drill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. cold — not warm
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bore — to tire
  16. press — a publisher
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fall — the season
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fall — to drop
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. wind — to turn a key

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