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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. swing — in golf
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. scale — in music
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. kid — to tease
  9. season — in sport
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. season — of the year
  13. swing — to play on
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. march — music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. content — happy
  20. march — the month
  21. swing — music
  22. content — the amount
  23. march — the month
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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