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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 · file · game · staff · field · wake · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. staff — employees
  3. game — wild animals
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. staff — employees
  6. file — a tool
  7. field — farmland
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. file — a document
  11. staff — a stick
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. field — a subject
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. rock — a stone
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. file — a line of people
  23. field — for sport
  24. game — a match

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