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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 120 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 elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. tube — a container
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. bank — for money
  10. kid — to tease
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. chest — of your body
  14. tube — the underground
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chest — of your body
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. kid — child
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. chest — a box
  24. march — the month

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