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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. spring — a coil
  5. staff — a stick
  6. spring — the season
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. spring — of water
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. staff — employees
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. clip — to cut
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. staff — employees
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rest — what's left
  24. coach — a trainer

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