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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. kid — to tease
  3. mug — a cup
  4. last — finally
  5. spell — letters
  6. club — a group
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. last — final
  10. club — for dancing
  11. mug — a face
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. club — for golf
  14. mug — to rob
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — to handle
  21. last — to go on
  22. spell — magic
  23. kid — child
  24. spell — a short time

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