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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 124 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. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bound — certain
  3. snap — to click
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. track — a song
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. season — in sport
  11. bound — obliged
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. track — to keep track
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — happy
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bound — tied together
  21. track — a path
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — of the year
  24. squash — the sport

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