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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 · wound · mark · bore · spell · present · roll · cold

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. roll — a list
  3. cold — an illness
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. roll — a cake
  7. bore — to tire
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bore — to drill
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mark — a trace
  12. spell — letters
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. spell — magic
  16. present — there
  17. present — a gift
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wound — an injury
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cold — not warm
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. present — the time now

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