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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. suit — in cards
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. present — a gift
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. scale — in music
  10. suit — to fit
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. present — the time now
  16. scale — size or range
  17. present — there
  18. bark — to shout
  19. squash — to crush
  20. suit — clothes
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. squash — the sport
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bark — of a tree

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