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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spring — of water
  5. spell — magic
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. spring — the season
  9. track — a path
  10. row — a line
  11. vault — a safe
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. spring — a coil
  17. deal — to handle
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. spell — letters
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. spell — a short time
  24. row — to paddle

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