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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: spell · kid · rash · wound · bass · trunk · bat · saw

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bass — low music
  4. spell — magic
  5. kid — child
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rash — hasty
  21. saw — the tool
  22. spell — letters
  23. rash — a series
  24. trunk — of a car

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