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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cell — a phone
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. chest — a box
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chest — of your body
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. snap — to click
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cell — in biology
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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