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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 116 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. pop — to visit
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. hand — help
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. lie — to recline
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. pop — soda
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. ball — a great time
  16. deal — to handle
  17. pop — music
  18. bat — the animal
  19. ball — a dance
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. lie — an untruth

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