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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 120 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: bat · bowl · chest · mate · bore · pound · racket · trunk

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bore — to drill
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. mate — to breed
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. chest — a box
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mate — a partner
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pound — a weight
  22. bore — to tire
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. chest — of your body

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