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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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468
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: bound · staff · root · march · trunk · bat · calf · chest

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. staff — employees
  3. bound — tied together
  4. chest — of your body
  5. root — of a word
  6. bat — the animal
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. root — of a plant
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. march — the month
  13. staff — employees
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. march — music
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bound — certain
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. march — the month
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chest — a box
  22. root — the cause
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bound — obliged

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