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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. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. mug — to rob
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mug — a cup
  8. squash — to crush
  9. capital — money
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mug — a face
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. capital — a city
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. squash — the sport
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. bat — the animal

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