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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. drill — the tool
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. drill — army training
  5. clip — to cut
  6. rush — hurry
  7. cold — an illness
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. clip — for paper
  10. staff — employees
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lean — to bend
  14. staff — a stick
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. staff — employees
  19. clip — a video
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. cold — not warm
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. rush — a thrill
  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