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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bay · drill · trunk · mouse · arm · hand · cold · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. drill — army training
  18. hand — help
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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