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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: bowl · present · hand · tube · trunk · spell · race · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. present — there
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. hand — help
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. present — the time now
  8. land — a country
  9. spell — letters
  10. land — to come down
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. spell — a short time
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. present — a gift
  21. race — humankind
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. spell — magic

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