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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. track — a path
  5. face — to point toward
  6. swing — in golf
  7. net — in sport
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. swing — to play on
  11. track — to keep track
  12. net — after costs
  13. face — part of the head
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. swing — music
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. net — for catching
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. content — the amount
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. track — a song
  24. face — to confront

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