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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. face — to confront
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. bore — to drill
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. season — of the year
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. club — for golf
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. face — to point toward
  17. bore — to tire
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. club — a group
  20. season — in sport
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. face — part of the head
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. cell — in biology

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