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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. land — to come down
  3. craft — boats
  4. scale — size or range
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spring — the season
  7. scale — in music
  8. spring — of water
  9. land — a country
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. spring — a coil
  13. land — ground
  14. object — an aim
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. tear — from crying
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. craft — a skill
  20. object — to protest
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. object — a thing
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. tear — from crying

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