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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: trunk · court · shower · march · mark · coach · staff · cabinet

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. shower — to wash
  3. march — the month
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. march — the month
  6. court — of a king
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. shower — rain
  9. court — for sport
  10. staff — employees
  11. march — music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. mark — a grade
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mark — a trace
  20. court — of law
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. staff — employees

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