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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. coach — a trainer
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cue — a signal
  4. craft — a skill
  5. cue — for pool
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. cue — a hint
  13. row — a line
  14. craft — boats
  15. row — to paddle
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. coach — a trainer
  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