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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cell · trunk · roll · march · racket · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. cell — a phone
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. kick — in football
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — in biology
  7. march — music
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. march — the month
  15. roll — a list
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree

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