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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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. degree — an amount
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — rain
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. kid — to tease
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wake — a trail
  24. mouse — the animal

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