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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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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. wind — moving air
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wind — moving air
  8. drill — a practice
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pop — to visit
  12. game — wild animals
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pop — music
  19. chest — a box
  20. game — a match
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. hand — help
  23. drill — army training
  24. pop — soda

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