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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 116 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: ground · saw · rash · lean · bat · content · trunk · mark

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. lean — thin
  6. saw — the tool
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bat — the animal
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. rash — hasty
  14. ground — crushed
  15. rash — a series
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. saw — the tool
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mark — a grade
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. ground — the earth
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ground — a position

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