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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 · bear · tube · season · drill · coach · march · hand

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. season — of the year
  3. bear — the animal
  4. march — the month
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. tube — a container
  7. drill — army training
  8. tube — the underground
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. drill — the tool
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. hand — help
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. march — music
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. season — in sport
  19. march — the month
  20. hand — in cards
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. drill — a practice
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bear — the animal

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