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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: trunk · suit · land · cue · bat · sharp · rule · snap

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. snap — to click
  3. land — to come down
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cue — a signal
  6. cue — a hint
  7. suit — clothes
  8. suit — to fit
  9. suit — in cards
  10. cue — for pool
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. rule — government
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. land — ground
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. land — a country
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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