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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. scale — in music
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. kick — in football
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. scale — size or range
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. band — a music group
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pound — a weight
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. band — a ring
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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