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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: stick · chest · trunk · mate · pitcher · band · straw · season

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. season — of the year
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. mate — a friend
  8. band — a music group
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. season — in sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mate — to breed
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. band — a ring
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. band — a rubber band

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