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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: key · bark · bat · scale · coach · trunk · arm · spring

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. scale — in music
  8. spring — a coil
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. spring — the season
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. spring — of water
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. scale — size or range
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — in music
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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