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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cue — a signal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. deal — to handle
  9. cue — for pool
  10. pop — music
  11. hand — help
  12. pop — to visit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. season — in sport
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pop — soda
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hand — in cards
  24. deal — an agreement

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