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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: content · fan · bat · hand · date · track · trunk · staff

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. staff — employees
  3. date — the fruit
  4. content — happy
  5. hand — help
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. hand — in cards
  8. content — the amount
  9. track — to keep track
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bat — the animal
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. staff — a stick
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. staff — employees
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fan — a supporter

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