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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. band — a ring
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. spring — a coil
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. spring — the season
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. band — a music group
  20. fall — to drop
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. spring — of water
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pitch — a sports field

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