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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. mate — a friend
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. wind — moving air
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mate — to breed
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bulb — for light
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. bulb — of a plant

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