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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. face — to confront
  3. club — a group
  4. face — to point toward
  5. club — for dancing
  6. present — a gift
  7. club — for golf
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. file — a document
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. kid — child
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. file — a line of people
  17. present — the time now
  18. ground — a position
  19. present — there
  20. ground — crushed
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. face — part of the head
  23. file — a tool
  24. ground — the earth

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