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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: fork · cold · bay · cabinet · stem · rush · trunk · hand

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. hand — help
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. fork — in a road
  21. rush — hurry
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cold — an illness

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