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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bat — the animal
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. wound — an injury
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wind — moving air
  11. plane — a tool
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. foot — a measure
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bat — in an idiom

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