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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. land — a country
  2. bat — the animal
  3. craft — boats
  4. swing — to play on
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. net — for catching
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. land — to come down
  11. chest — a box
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. net — in sport
  15. swing — music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. craft — a skill
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. chest — of your body
  21. net — after costs
  22. land — ground
  23. chest — of your body
  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