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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bat — the animal
  3. court — of law
  4. mine — for digging
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. wound — an injury
  8. court — of a king
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. squash — to crush
  13. sharp — clever
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wound — an injury
  18. squash — the sport
  19. court — for sport
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. trunk — 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