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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: mine · wind · trunk · racket · game · lean · kid · sharp

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mine — for digging
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. game — wild animals
  13. lean — to bend
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. kid — to tease
  17. lean — thin
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. game — a match
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wind — moving air

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