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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rock — music
  3. spell — letters
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. net — after costs
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rock — a stone
  9. spell — a short time
  10. net — in sport
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cue — a hint
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. net — for catching
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. spring — of water
  20. spell — magic
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — for pool
  23. wax — to grow
  24. lean — thin

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