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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. staff — employees
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. saw — the tool
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. net — in sport
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — the season
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. squash — to crush
  13. spring — a coil
  14. staff — a stick
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. shower — to wash
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. net — after costs
  19. staff — employees
  20. net — for catching
  21. squash — the sport
  22. shower — rain
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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