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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 116 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: mark · wound · snap · cap · stand · kick · trunk · bass

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wound — an injury
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bass — low music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. cap — a lid
  8. bass — the fish
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. mark — a trace
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. snap — to click
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cap — of ice
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mark — a grade
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. kick — in football
  24. trunk — of a tree

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