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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: cue · field · cell · trunk · bore · jam · snap · game

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cue — a hint
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cue — for pool
  7. game — a match
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. game — wild animals
  12. field — for sport
  13. bore — to drill
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. field — a subject
  18. cue — a signal
  19. field — farmland
  20. bore — to tire
  21. cell — in biology
  22. snap — to click
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. jam — in traffic

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