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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. file — a document
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wound — an injury
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wound — an injury
  9. file — a tool
  10. land — a country
  11. cold — not warm
  12. file — a line of people
  13. land — to come down
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. key — the most important part
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. land — ground
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. key — for a lock
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cold — an illness
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. key — in music

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