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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. pop — soda
  4. ground — crushed
  5. spell — letters
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. spell — a short time
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. pop — music
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. dip — to sink
  19. ground — the earth
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. ground — a position
  22. spell — magic
  23. pop — to visit
  24. patient — a sick person

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