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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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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: wake · bat · pitcher · sharp · object · trunk · rock · cold

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  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 — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. object — to protest
  4. object — a thing
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. sharp — clever
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rock — music
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rock — a stone
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. object — an aim
  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