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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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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: rock · bore · rash · scale · last · trunk · cold · hand

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. scale — size or range
  5. bore — to drill
  6. scale — in music
  7. last — final
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rock — a stone
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. last — to go on
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cold — an illness
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rock — music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. last — finally
  23. hand — help
  24. trunk — of a car

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