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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. perch — the fish
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. toast — bread
  11. march — the month
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. chest — of your body
  15. land — a country
  16. march — music
  17. roll — a cake
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. land — to come down
  20. chest — of your body
  21. march — the month
  22. chest — a box
  23. roll — a list
  24. land — ground

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