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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. sharp — clever
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. shower — to wash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. content — the amount
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pitch — completely
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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