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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · bore · spring · wax · trunk · racket · cell · rock

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. rock — music
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bore — to drill
  17. spring — of water
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bore — to tire
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. spring — the season

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