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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mug — a face
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. toast — bread
  6. mug — to rob
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. hand — help
  10. mug — a cup
  11. chest — of your body
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bat — for baseball

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