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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. spring — a coil
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bank — for money
  10. scale — size or range
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. spring — the season
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bank — for money
  18. hand — help
  19. spring — of water
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bank — of a river
  23. scale — in music
  24. trunk — of a car

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