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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. net — in sport
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hand — in cards
  8. rash — a series
  9. squash — to crush
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — for catching
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — help
  15. wound — an injury
  16. rest — a break
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rest — what's left
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. racket — for tennis

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