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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 · rash · rest · cap · cell · drill · mark · straw

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. rest — a break
  3. cap — a hat
  4. drill — the tool
  5. cap — a lid
  6. drill — army training
  7. rest — what's left
  8. drill — a practice
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cell — in biology
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rash — a series
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cap — of ice
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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