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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 120 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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. kid — to tease
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. pit — in a race
  10. kid — child
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pit — a hole
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. cap — a lid
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cap — a hat
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. cap — of ice
  24. racket — for tennis

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