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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: game · file · bore · trunk · net · pound · cold · stem

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. net — in sport
  5. file — a line of people
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bore — to tire
  8. cold — not warm
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — a weight
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. game — wild animals
  15. file — a tool
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cold — an illness
  18. net — after costs
  19. game — a match
  20. bore — to drill
  21. net — for catching
  22. file — a document
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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