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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. net — after costs
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. net — in sport
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. net — for catching
  9. shower — rain
  10. march — the month
  11. rock — a stone
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. scale — in music
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. march — music
  18. scale — size or range
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. rock — music
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. shower — to wash
  23. sharp — clever
  24. march — the month

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