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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. net — in sport
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. net — after costs
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — size or range
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. ground — the earth
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. wake — a trail
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. ground — crushed
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. net — for catching

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