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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: trunk · snap · mouse · wave · straw · kick · band · pitcher

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. kick — in football
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. band — a music group
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. snap — to click
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. band — a ring

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