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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. hand — help
  7. pop — to visit
  8. shower — rain
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. hand — in cards
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pass — a permit
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. shower — to wash
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. chest — of your body
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. chest — a box

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