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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. 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. squash — to crush
  2. cold — an illness
  3. net — after costs
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. squash — the sport
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rest — a break
  12. ground — crushed
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. net — for catching
  15. rest — what's left
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ground — a position
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. net — in sport
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. rest — what's left
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. 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