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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: row · tear · trunk · bore · present · land · cabinet · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. land — to come down
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. row — to paddle
  6. tear — from crying
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. wound — an injury
  9. present — there
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. land — ground
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. tear — from crying
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — to drill
  20. present — a gift
  21. present — the time now
  22. row — a line
  23. land — a country
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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