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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've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. swing — to play on
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. net — after costs
  6. key — for a lock
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mark — a trace
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. key — in music
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. key — the most important part
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mark — a grade
  16. cold — not warm
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — for catching
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. swing — in golf
  24. swing — 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