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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. bore — to tire
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. march — music
  5. chest — of your body
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. clip — to cut
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. clip — a video
  18. march — the month
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. clip — for paper
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. march — the month
  24. bore — to drill

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