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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. spring — of water
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. key — for a lock
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. track — to keep track
  9. pitch — completely
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. key — in music
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spring — a coil
  17. key — the most important part
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. track — a song
  21. spring — the season
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cold — an illness
  24. track — a path

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