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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. fall — the season
  3. object — to protest
  4. march — the month
  5. bound — tied together
  6. wind — moving air
  7. object — an aim
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bound — certain
  18. wind — moving air
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bound — obliged
  23. object — a thing
  24. bat — in an idiom

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