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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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Word bank
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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 · bulb · trunk · sharp · march · straw · fork · racket

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. sharp — clever
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. march — music
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cell — a phone
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. march — the month
  17. bulb — for light
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. bulb — for light
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. march — the month
  24. cell — in biology

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