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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: straw · trunk · pit · staff · bat · pound · drill · spell

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. spell — letters
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — the animal
  8. spell — a short time
  9. staff — employees
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. drill — the tool
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spell — magic
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. pit — in a race
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pit — a hole
  24. drill — army training

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