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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rush — hurry
  6. spell — magic
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. spell — letters
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bat — the animal

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