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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 116 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: spell · coach · trunk · fall · rush · bat · bark · bear

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. spell — magic
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — letters
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. rush — hurry
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bat — the animal
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. bear — the animal

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