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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hand — help
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. scale — in music
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. hand — in cards
  12. cell — in biology
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — the cause
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cell — a phone
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. scale — size or range
  21. shower — to wash
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. root — of a plant
  24. lie — to recline

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