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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cell — a phone
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. squash — the sport
  7. kid — to tease
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rest — a break
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cell — in biology
  14. rest — what's left
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tear — from crying
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. march — the month
  23. rest — what's left
  24. squash — to crush

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