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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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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: hand · trunk · mate · sharp · rush · bat · chip · content

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mate — to breed
  4. chip — for betting
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. sharp — clever
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. rush — hurry
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. hand — help
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. content — happy
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — a friend
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bat — the animal
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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