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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. track — to keep track
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. track — a path
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rush — hurry
  9. track — a song
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bat — the animal
  13. field — farmland
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cell — in biology
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. field — a subject
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — for sport
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cell — in a prison

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