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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. face — to confront
  5. pop — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. face — to point toward
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. tube — the underground
  11. fall — to drop
  12. row — a line
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fall — the season
  15. tube — a container
  16. fork — in a road
  17. rash — a series
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pop — to visit
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. row — to paddle
  23. face — part of the head
  24. pop — soda

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