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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mark — a grade
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cap — a hat
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cap — a lid
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. wound — an injury
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. mark — a trace
  16. wound — an injury
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cap — of ice

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