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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cap — a lid
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rash — hasty
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. club — for golf
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cell — a phone
  14. cap — a hat
  15. club — a group
  16. cell — in biology
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. club — for dancing
  20. kid — child
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rash — a series
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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