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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. track — a song
  7. cell — a phone
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. board — to get on
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wound — an injury
  19. board — a committee
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. board — a flat piece

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