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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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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: field · straw · bat · trunk · rush · present · dip · snap

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. rush — hurry
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. field — for sport
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. present — there
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. field — a subject
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. snap — to click
  18. present — the time now
  19. dip — to sink
  20. bat — the animal
  21. present — a gift
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. field — farmland
  24. trunk — of a car

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