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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 116 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: trunk · racket · cold · track · band · hand · mark · bat

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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. cold — not warm
  4. track — a path
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. band — a ring
  7. mark — a trace
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. hand — help
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. track — to keep track
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. mark — a grade
  15. band — a music group
  16. track — a song
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bat — the animal
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. hand — in cards
  24. racket — a loud noise

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