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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: snap · cell · trunk · scale · firm · wind · sharp · row

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. row — a line
  6. firm — a company
  7. scale — in music
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. scale — size or range
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. cell — in biology
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cell — a phone
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. firm — steady
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. firm — decided
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wind — moving air

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