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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. field — farmland
  5. key — the most important part
  6. field — for sport
  7. key — for a lock
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. kid — to tease
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bass — low music
  15. tear — to rip
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. key — in music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. field — a subject
  23. bass — the fish
  24. tear — from crying

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