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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 tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. sharp — clever
  3. hand — help
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. hand — in cards
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. cell — a phone
  11. land — to come down
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. land — a country
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. cell — in biology
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. land — ground
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. pit — a hole
  24. lash — to lash out

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