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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rest — a break
  4. rest — what's left
  5. snap — to click
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. cell — in biology
  10. branch — a division
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rash — a series
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. cell — a phone
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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