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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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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: trunk · hand · dip · wound · tube · staff · season · ball

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. staff — a stick
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. staff — employees
  6. season — of the year
  7. tube — a container
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. wound — an injury
  10. hand — in cards
  11. ball — a dance
  12. staff — employees
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. ball — a great time
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. dip — to sink
  21. season — in sport
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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