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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. row — a line
  3. ground — crushed
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. track — to keep track
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — a match
  11. track — a path
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. track — a song
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. row — to paddle
  18. lie — to recline
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. ground — a position
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. game — wild animals
  24. trunk — of a tree

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