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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — to wash
  5. net — for catching
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. net — in sport
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. net — after costs
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. charge — electricity
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. game — a match
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. mine — for digging
  21. shower — rain
  22. charge — in control
  23. charge — a price
  24. calf — a young animal

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