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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spring — a coil
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. snap — to click
  8. spring — of water
  9. cue — a signal
  10. saw — the tool
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cue — a hint
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rest — what's left
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. rest — a break
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cue — for pool
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. saw — the tool
  24. spring — the season

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