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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.

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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: snap · tube · lash · wound · net · trunk · bark · bat

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — in sport
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. net — after costs
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tube — the underground
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. tube — a container
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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