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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. degree — from a university
  4. lean — to bend
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. hand — in cards
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. degree — an amount
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pitch — completely
  22. lean — thin
  23. hand — help
  24. degree — temperature

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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