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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · land · spell · sharp · wound · pop · kid · trunk

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. spell — letters
  7. kid — to tease
  8. spell — magic
  9. wound — an injury
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kid — child
  13. wound — an injury
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. land — a country
  18. sharp — clever
  19. pop — music
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. land — to come down
  22. pop — to visit
  23. spell — a short time
  24. pop — soda

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