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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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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: mouse · sharp · hand · field · wave · ruler · trunk · bat

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. field — farmland
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. sharp — clever
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. field — for sport
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. hand — in cards
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. field — a subject
  22. hand — help
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. mouse — the animal

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