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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. plane — a tool
  3. wake — a trail
  4. drill — the tool
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. drill — army training
  8. game — a match
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. drill — a practice
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. game — wild animals
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. plane — in geometry

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