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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. file — a tool
  6. current — happening now
  7. row — a line
  8. current — electric
  9. file — a document
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. current — of water
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. row — to paddle
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. snap — to click
  21. date — the fruit
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. file — a line of people

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