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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. saw — the tool
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. race — the arms race
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. chair — a leader
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — humankind
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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