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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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. bat — the animal
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. root — the cause
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. root — of a word
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. cell — a phone
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cell — in biology
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — to recline
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — completely
  23. rush — hurry
  24. root — of a plant

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