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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.

Words on the sheet
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: kick · spell · drill · cold · straw · mark · season · trunk

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. season — of the year
  3. mark — a trace
  4. spell — magic
  5. drill — a practice
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. drill — army training
  11. spell — letters
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. cold — an illness
  16. kick — in football
  17. mark — a grade
  18. drill — the tool
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. season — in sport
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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