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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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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: key · fall · arm · coach · wind · squash · chip · trunk

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. wind — moving air
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fall — to drop
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fall — the season
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. key — for a lock
  11. chip — for betting
  12. wind — moving air
  13. key — in music
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chip — to eat
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. squash — to crush
  24. fall — to drop

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