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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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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: trunk · pass · foot · coach · last · bat · jam · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. game — a match
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. bat — the animal
  19. game — wild animals
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. foot — a measure
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pass — a permit

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