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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: racket · trunk · snap · staff · last · can · pitch · cold

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. last — final
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pitch — completely
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. can — a tin
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cold — an illness
  11. last — finally
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. last — to go on
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. staff — employees
  23. snap — to click
  24. can — a tin

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