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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wind — moving air
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bass — low music
  13. branch — a division
  14. ball — a dance
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. sharp — clever
  22. file — a tool
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bass — the instrument

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