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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: pitcher · snap · last · bowl · trunk · lean · march · ground

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. ground — the earth
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. lean — to bend
  9. last — final
  10. lean — thin
  11. last — to go on
  12. march — the month
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. snap — to click
  16. ground — crushed
  17. march — the month
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. ground — a position
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. last — finally
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. march — music

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