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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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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: trunk · scale · cell · drill · snap · bank · bat · field

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. scale — size or range
  6. drill — army training
  7. cell — a phone
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. drill — a practice
  11. drill — the tool
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. snap — to click
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. cell — in biology
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. field — for sport
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. cell — in a prison

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