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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. drill — a practice
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. stand — to bear
  8. file — a tool
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. lie — to recline
  12. drill — the tool
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. drill — army training
  17. bat — the animal
  18. file — a line of people
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. file — a document
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. stand — for spectators

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