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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: cold · fall · wound · trunk · coach · rock · staff · calf

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rock — music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rock — a stone
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. staff — employees
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. wound — an injury
  16. fall — the season
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. staff — employees
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wound — an injury
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. staff — a stick
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cold — not warm

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