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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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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. season — in sport
  3. track — a path
  4. track — a song
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. season — of the year
  7. rash — hasty
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. rash — a series
  11. wax — to grow
  12. track — to keep track
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. ruler — a monarch

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