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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. snap — to click
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. last — finally
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. last — to go on
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. last — final

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