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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 120 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 · chest · fan · trunk · spring · coach · tube · straw

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. spring — the season
  5. chest — a box
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. tube — the underground
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. chest — of your body
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spring — a coil
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. spring — of water
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. chest — of your body
  24. tube — a container

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