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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. snap — to click
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. shower — rain
  13. staff — a stick
  14. bass — low music
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. field — a subject
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. plane — a tool
  21. field — farmland
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. field — for sport
  24. shower — to wash

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