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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. plane — a tool
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. club — for dancing
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tube — the underground
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. pass — a permit
  10. club — a group
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. tube — a container
  13. cold — an illness
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. club — for golf
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. straw — a straw man

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