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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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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: arm · mine · trunk · wake · club · lie · bat · content

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — to recline
  10. content — the amount
  11. mine — for digging
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. club — for golf
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. content — happy
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bat — the animal
  24. club — for dancing

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