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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. date — the fruit
  4. track — a path
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — to point toward
  7. face — part of the head
  8. net — for catching
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. net — in sport
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. chest — a box
  15. track — a song
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. chest — of your body
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chest — of your body
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. net — after costs
  24. track — to keep track

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