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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. hand — help
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. rush — hurry
  8. hand — in cards
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. stock — shares
  14. fine — all right
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. sharp — clever
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fine — high quality

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