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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. plane — a tool
  4. mate — a partner
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. saw — the tool
  7. mate — a friend
  8. wake — a trail
  9. season — in sport
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. kid — to tease
  16. saw — the tool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. season — of the year
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. kid — child
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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