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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.

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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: cell · pitcher · lash · fan · saw · pound · rule · trunk

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cell — a phone
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rule — a law
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. rule — government
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. cell — in biology
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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