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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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. net — after costs
  5. wound — an injury
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fine — high quality
  10. net — for catching
  11. bat — the animal
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. wound — an injury
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — all right

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