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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. land — to come down
  5. scale — in music
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. season — in sport
  8. spring — the season
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — of the year
  13. key — in music
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. key — the most important part
  17. spring — of water
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. scale — size or range
  20. dip — to sink
  21. key — for a lock
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. spring — a coil

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