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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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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 · dip · snap · kid · last · bore · suit · straw

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. snap — to click
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. suit — in cards
  8. suit — clothes
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bore — to tire
  11. last — finally
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. last — final
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. bore — to drill
  17. last — to go on
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. kid — child
  24. suit — to fit

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