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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: trunk · chest · lie · craft · roll · hand · fan · bound

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bound — tied together
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. roll — a cake
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. roll — a list
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. lie — to recline
  16. hand — help
  17. bound — certain
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bound — obliged
  22. chest — a box
  23. hand — in cards
  24. craft — boats

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