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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: lash · bowl · saw · trunk · bat · mouse · swing · degree

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bat — the animal
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. degree — from a university
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. saw — the tool
  19. degree — temperature
  20. swing — music
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. swing — in golf

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