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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: toast · rush · coach · court · bat · row · trunk · band

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a line
  6. court — for sport
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rush — hurry
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. court — of a king
  18. band — a ring
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bat — the animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. toast — bread
  24. toast — the most admired

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