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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: mine · cue · file · trunk · rash · last · coach · row

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. cue — a signal
  3. file — a document
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — for pool
  11. last — final
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. row — a line
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. last — finally
  16. row — to paddle
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rash — a series
  21. last — to go on
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rash — hasty

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