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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. kid — child
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — music
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. hand — in cards
  7. spell — letters
  8. hand — help
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rock — a stone
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spell — magic
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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