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

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. tube — the underground
  7. prune — to trim
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. tube — a container
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. hand — help
  18. prune — to trim

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