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

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. stand — to bear
  5. current — happening now
  6. net — in sport
  7. current — electric
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. current — of water
  14. bat — the animal
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — after costs
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. stand — on your feet

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