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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 120 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: mark · mine · lash · march · patient · file · trunk · racket

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. mark — a trace
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. file — a tool
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. march — music
  14. file — a document
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. file — a line of people
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. march — the month
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. march — the month

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