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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. file — a document
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. board — to get on
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. shower — rain
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a line of people
  12. season — of the year
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. band — a music group
  16. season — in sport
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. shower — to wash
  19. band — a ring
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. board — a committee

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