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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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. spell — a short time
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. club — for golf
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. row — to paddle
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. spell — magic
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. club — for dancing
  16. field — farmland
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. field — for sport
  19. club — a group
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. row — a line
  23. field — a subject
  24. spell — letters

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