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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. hand — help
  3. staff — employees
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. staff — a stick
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. staff — employees
  8. row — a line
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. shower — rain
  11. hand — in cards
  12. shower — to wash
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. swing — to play on
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — music

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