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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 120 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: bore · snap · field · lean · wave · sharp · trunk · club

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. lean — thin
  2. bore — to tire
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. bore — to drill
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. club — for dancing
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. snap — to click
  13. field — for sport
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. field — a subject
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. lean — to bend
  20. sharp — clever
  21. club — a group
  22. field — farmland
  23. club — for golf
  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