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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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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. rock — music
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. lean — thin
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. net — in sport
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. lean — to bend
  14. deal — to handle
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. net — after costs
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. net — for catching
  22. spring — of water
  23. rock — a stone
  24. lean — to rest against

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