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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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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 · fork · coach · snap · present · cap · squash · rash

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. present — a gift
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. cap — of ice
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. squash — to crush
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. present — the time now
  9. cap — a hat
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cap — a lid
  12. snap — to click
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. squash — the sport
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. rash — a series
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. present — there
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rash — hasty
  24. trunk — of a car

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