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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. fall — the season
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. rash — a series
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. march — music
  24. ball — a great time

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