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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. sharp — clever
  6. kid — child
  7. tube — the underground
  8. march — the month
  9. craft — boats
  10. scale — in music
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. scale — size or range
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. tube — a container
  18. craft — a skill
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. march — the month
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. kid — to tease
  24. march — music

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