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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. game — a match
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — wild animals
  10. season — in sport
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. pound — a weight
  16. season — of the year
  17. foot — a measure
  18. pound — to hit hard

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