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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: cue · pitcher · spell · drill · date · chest · cell · trunk

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cue — a signal
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. drill — the tool
  9. cell — a phone
  10. chest — of your body
  11. date — the fruit
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spell — a short time
  15. drill — army training
  16. spell — letters
  17. chest — a box
  18. cell — in biology
  19. spell — magic
  20. cue — for pool
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. cue — a hint
  24. drill — a practice

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