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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · bat · tube · trunk · coach · cap · straw · mate

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cap — a hat
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tube — a container
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tube — the underground
  12. game — a match
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a friend
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mate — a partner
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bat — in an idiom

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