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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. staff — employees
  8. shower — rain
  9. chair — a leader
  10. staff — a stick
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. dip — to sink
  18. ball — a dance
  19. clip — to cut
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. clip — a video
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — for paper
  24. trunk — of a tree

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