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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: hide · wound · stem · coach · season · trunk · patient · shower

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. season — in sport
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. shower — rain
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. season — of the year
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. shower — to wash
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. patient — a sick person

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