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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — hasty
  7. clip — to cut
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. clip — for paper
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bulb — for light
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. clip — a video
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. kid — child
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. racket — for tennis

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