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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
468
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: squash · bat · face · racket · trunk · ball · game · straw

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. face — to confront
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — to crush
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. game — a match
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. ball — a great time
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to point toward
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bat — the animal
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bat — for baseball

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