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

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. sharp — clever
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. foot — a measure
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. game — a match
  18. wake — a trail

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