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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: fine · trunk · wound · chip · race · bound · tube · cold

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. fine — high quality
  9. fine — all right
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bound — certain
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bound — obliged
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bound — tied together
  19. race — humankind
  20. wound — an injury
  21. cold — not warm
  22. race — a contest
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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