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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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. cold — an illness
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. race — humankind
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. deal — to handle
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. board — a committee
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. board — to get on
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. cold — the Cold War

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