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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. land — to come down
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cold — an illness
  7. land — a country
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. mate — a partner
  10. squash — the sport
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cold — not warm
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. stand — to bear
  20. squash — to crush
  21. land — ground
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. mate — a friend

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