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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: snap · bowl · straw · pound · drill · roll · trunk · bat

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. roll — a list
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. snap — to click
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pound — a weight
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. drill — army training
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bowl — a dish

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