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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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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: field · trunk · racket · cell · tear · net · rule · dip

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. net — in sport
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. net — after costs
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. rule — government
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. field — farmland
  10. tear — from crying
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. rule — a law
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. net — for catching
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cell — in biology
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cell — a phone
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. field — a subject

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