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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 · lash · cell · wax · tube · trunk · field · mug

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. cell — a phone
  6. field — a subject
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — in biology
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. wax — to grow
  12. field — farmland
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. hand — help
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. mug — a cup
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. mug — a face
  24. mug — to rob

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