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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: rush · coach · prune · racket · face · content · hand · trunk

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rush — hurry
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. face — part of the head
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. face — to confront
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. prune — to trim
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. face — to point toward
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. hand — help
  21. content — the amount
  22. content — happy
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. hand — in cards

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