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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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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: snap · saw · mark · field · trunk · hand · cell · kid

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cell — a phone
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. saw — the tool
  7. kid — child
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. cell — in biology
  13. field — for sport
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. field — farmland
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. hand — help
  18. mark — a trace
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. snap — to click
  21. kid — to tease
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. hand — in cards
  24. hand — part of the body

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