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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. hand — help
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. hand — in cards
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. pound — a weight
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. game — a match
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. game — wild animals

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