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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 · bound · race · fall · game · calf · plane · mine

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. fall — to drop
  3. game — wild animals
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bound — certain
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bound — tied together
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. race — a contest
  12. bound — obliged
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. game — a match
  15. fall — to drop
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. fall — the season
  21. race — humankind
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. race — the arms race
  24. plane — a tool

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