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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: bore · pop · wind · face · mark · rush · bat · trunk

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bore — to tire
  4. face — to confront
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bore — to drill
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. mark — a grade
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pop — to visit
  12. face — part of the head
  13. face — to point toward
  14. mark — a trace
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. wind — moving air

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