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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. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. scale — in music
  7. cue — a signal
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pound — a weight
  13. cue — for pool
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. foot — a measure
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. cue — a hint
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pound — for dogs

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