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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. key — for a lock
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. key — the most important part
  9. bound — tied together
  10. can — to be able to
  11. file — a document
  12. bound — obliged
  13. can — a tin
  14. game — wild animals
  15. key — in music
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. file — a tool
  18. pitch — completely
  19. can — a tin
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. game — a match
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bound — certain
  24. trunk — of a car

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