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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 · straw · staff · bat · trunk · craft · season · band

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. craft — boats
  3. band — a music group
  4. snap — to click
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. band — a ring
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. craft — a skill
  9. staff — a stick
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. staff — employees
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bat — the animal
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. staff — employees
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. season — in sport
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. season — of the year
  24. band — a rubber band

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