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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cell — a phone
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. spring — the season
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. snap — to click
  16. bulb — for light
  17. row — a line
  18. file — a document
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  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