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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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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: current · stick · bat · wound · cue · sharp · trunk · tear

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. cue — a signal
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. cue — for pool
  9. current — electric
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. current — happening now
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. cue — a hint
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. tear — from crying
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bat — the animal
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. current — of water
  24. bat — for baseball

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