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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. net — for catching
  3. file — a tool
  4. scale — in music
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. march — music
  7. file — a line of people
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. net — in sport
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. shower — rain
  13. march — the month
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. scale — size or range
  21. march — the month
  22. file — a document
  23. net — after costs
  24. shower — to wash

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