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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: fall · cold · spring · trunk · bowl · hand · craft · bore

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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 tree
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. fall — to drop
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. craft — a skill
  9. spring — of water
  10. bore — to drill
  11. spring — a coil
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. spring — the season
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. craft — boats
  16. hand — help
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bore — to tire
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fall — the season

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