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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 116 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: march · drill · straw · calf · cabinet · trunk · fan · kid

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. kid — to tease
  8. drill — army training
  9. march — the month
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. kid — child
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. march — the month
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. march — music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. drill — the tool

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