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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chest — a box
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chest — of your body
  8. content — the amount
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. chest — of your body
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. present — there
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — happy
  19. fall — the season
  20. present — a gift
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. fall — to drop

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