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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. face — part of the head
  5. wound — an injury
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — not warm
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. kid — child
  17. wound — an injury
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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