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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 120 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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. race — a contest
  4. last — final
  5. bat — the animal
  6. last — finally
  7. rest — a break
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. race — the arms race
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. rest — what's left
  16. last — to go on
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. pit — a hole
  19. pit — in a race
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. race — humankind
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. racket — a loud noise

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