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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — a lid
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. rest — what's left
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bat — the animal
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rock — a stone
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rest — a break
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. rock — music
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. cap — of ice
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rock — to move gently

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