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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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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: bowl · wind · squash · mine · current · trunk · straw · snap

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. squash — the sport
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — electric
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. snap — to click
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wind — moving air
  16. squash — to crush
  17. current — of water
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wind — moving air
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. wind — to turn a key

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