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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: hand · snap · bat · trunk · net · field · race · bay

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. race — a contest
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. field — a subject
  7. hand — help
  8. snap — to click
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. race — humankind
  11. field — farmland
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. hand — in cards
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. field — for sport
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. net — for catching
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. net — in sport
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. net — after costs

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