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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — the earth
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. field — farmland
  5. shower — rain
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. shower — to wash
  13. ground — a position
  14. rash — a series
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — a subject
  17. march — music
  18. cue — a hint
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a signal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. ground — crushed
  23. field — for sport
  24. racket — a loud noise

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