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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: bat · kid · trunk · key · hand · racket · mouse · club

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. key — in music
  3. club — for golf
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. key — the most important part
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. bat — the animal
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for dancing
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. key — for a lock
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. hand — in cards
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. kid — child
  24. trunk — of a car

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