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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: cap · patient · bat · rash · chest · trunk · coach · pop

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — a series
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. pop — to visit
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pop — music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chest — a box
  17. cap — a hat
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. chest — of your body
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. pop — soda
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. trunk — of a tree

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