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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: bat · field · trunk · mug · lash · date · court · bear

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. field — farmland
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. date — the fruit
  13. court — of a king
  14. field — a subject
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. mug — to rob
  21. field — for sport
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. mug — a face
  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