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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. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. current — happening now
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. lie — to recline
  12. current — electric
  13. ground — the earth
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. ground — crushed
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. current — of water
  20. sharp — clever
  21. shower — to wash
  22. hand — help
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. ground — a position

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