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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. row — a line
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — a partner
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. race — a contest
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bulb — for light
  13. spring — the season
  14. bulb — for light
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. spring — of water
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. mate — to breed
  22. race — the arms race
  23. race — humankind
  24. spring — a coil

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