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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. dip — to sink
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. field — for sport
  8. band — a music group
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — employees
  12. fine — all right
  13. hand — in cards
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. staff — a stick
  16. wind — moving air
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. field — a subject
  21. fine — high quality
  22. field — farmland
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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