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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 120 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. rest — what's left
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — to play on
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rest — a break
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. swing — music
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cold — an illness
  21. rest — what's left
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — army training
  24. swing — in golf

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