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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. lean — thin
  4. row — to paddle
  5. kid — to tease
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. field — for sport
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. field — a subject
  10. kid — child
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. lean — to bend
  18. field — farmland
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. row — a line
  24. bat — in an idiom

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