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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 120 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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. staff — a stick
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. ground — a position
  8. land — ground
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. march — music
  13. land — a country
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cap — a lid
  17. wound — an injury
  18. land — to come down
  19. cap — a hat
  20. ground — the earth
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — an injury
  23. march — the month
  24. cap — of ice

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