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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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Word bank
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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. mouse — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. race — the arms race
  6. craft — a skill
  7. press — to push
  8. root — of a word
  9. craft — boats
  10. root — of a plant
  11. race — a contest
  12. chest — a box
  13. bat — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. root — the cause
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. race — humankind
  23. chest — of your body
  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