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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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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: trunk · coach · sharp · key · bat · fine · chest · spell

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — the most important part
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — all right
  14. spell — magic
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. fine — high quality
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. key — in music

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