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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cold — not warm
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. kid — child
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. perch — the fish

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