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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 124 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. rest — what's left
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rest — a break
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. capital — a city
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. capital — money

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