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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 124 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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. drill — a practice
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bass — low music
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wound — an injury
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fork — in a road
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. bass — the fish
  23. drill — army training
  24. fork — a garden tool

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