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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 120 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: bat · cell · lash · stock · field · trunk · object · wake

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. field — for sport
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. field — farmland
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. object — an aim
  9. wake — a trail
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cell — in biology
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bat — the animal
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. field — a subject
  22. object — a thing
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. object — to protest

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