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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chip — for betting
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — to eat
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. trunk — of a tree

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