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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bass — the fish
  3. charge — electricity
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. track — a path
  11. bass — low music
  12. charge — a price
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. snap — to click
  16. file — a document
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mine — for digging
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. file — a line of people
  23. charge — in control
  24. file — a tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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