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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. season — of the year
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rock — a stone
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bat — the animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. rock — music
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. net — after costs
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. sharp — clever
  19. net — in sport
  20. wake — a trail
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. net — for catching
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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