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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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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: stick · snap · land · trunk · chest · ball · season · foot

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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. season — to add flavour
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. land — a country
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. season — in sport
  11. foot — a measure
  12. season — of the year
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. snap — to click
  16. chest — a box
  17. ball — a dance
  18. land — ground
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. ball — a great time
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. land — to come down

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