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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. ground — a position
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. scale — in music
  11. chest — a box
  12. fork — in a road
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cue — a hint
  20. scale — size or range
  21. fall — the season
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — crushed

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