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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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. land — to come down
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — happy
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. land — ground
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. season — in sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. land — a country
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. drill — the tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. content — the amount
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bat — the animal
  24. season — of the year

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