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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 120 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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. net — after costs
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. court — of law
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. court — for sport
  18. file — a document
  19. net — for catching
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. court — of a king
  22. net — in sport
  23. bat — the animal
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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