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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 · foot · cabinet · spell · chest · wake · patient · ball

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. spell — a short time
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. spell — magic
  10. foot — a measure
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. chest — of your body
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. wake — a trail
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. spell — letters
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chest — a box
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. ball — a dance
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ball — a great time

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