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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: season · trunk · pitcher · rush · bore · rest · perch · key

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. rest — a break
  7. key — in music
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. key — the most important part
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rest — what's left
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. season — in sport
  22. bore — to tire
  23. perch — the fish
  24. bore — to drill

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