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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. file — a tool
  14. stand — to bear
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a document
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bat — the animal
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. arm — part of the body

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