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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. scale — in music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. foot — a measure
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. scale — size or range
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — rain

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