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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. degree — temperature
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. march — the month
  15. march — the month
  16. degree — an amount
  17. march — music
  18. degree — from a university
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. racket — for tennis

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