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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cell — a phone
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. drill — the tool
  9. race — the arms race
  10. hand — help
  11. band — a music group
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. race — a contest
  15. drill — a practice
  16. cell — in biology
  17. race — humankind
  18. fork — in a road
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. drill — army training
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. hand — in cards

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