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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. club — for golf
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. net — after costs
  8. drill — army training
  9. chair — a leader
  10. drill — the tool
  11. net — for catching
  12. spring — a coil
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spring — the season
  18. drill — a practice
  19. spring — of water
  20. rush — hurry
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. wake — a trail
  24. net — in sport

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