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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: ball · trunk · root · wound · kick · bat · craft · wake

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ball — a great time
  5. root — of a plant
  6. bat — the animal
  7. ball — a dance
  8. craft — boats
  9. wound — an injury
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a word
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. bat — in an idiom

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