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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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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: net · trunk · land · lash · wake · bat · bore · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bore — to drill
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. spell — a short time
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wake — a trail
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bat — the animal
  11. net — for catching
  12. land — ground
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. spell — magic
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. net — in sport
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. land — a country
  19. net — after costs
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bore — to tire
  23. land — to come down
  24. wake — before a funeral

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