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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. shower — to wash
  3. net — for catching
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — employees
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. pass — a permit
  9. land — a country
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. land — ground
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. staff — a stick
  15. net — in sport
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wound — an injury
  19. shower — rain
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. land — to come down
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. net — after costs
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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