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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: clip · racket · shower · mark · wind · squash · trunk · fine

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. mark — a trace
  6. fine — all right
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. mark — a grade
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. squash — the sport
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. clip — to cut
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. clip — for paper
  17. shower — to wash
  18. fine — high quality
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — moving air
  21. clip — a video
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. shower — rain

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