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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: sharp · trunk · game · chip · tear · snap · lash · cold

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — a match
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tear — from crying
  8. chip — for betting
  9. sharp — clever
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. game — wild animals
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. tear — from crying
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. snap — to click
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. chip — to eat
  21. cold — not warm
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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