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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: season · roll · snap · bore · cell · trunk · lie · capital

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bore — to tire
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bore — to drill
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. season — in sport
  13. roll — a cake
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. season — of the year
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. capital — a city
  20. snap — to click
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. capital — money
  24. roll — a list

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