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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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468
Word bank
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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. club — for golf
  8. spell — a short time
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. spell — magic
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. club — a group
  13. sharp — clever
  14. kid — to tease
  15. spell — letters
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. perch — the fish
  22. club — for dancing
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. kid — child

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