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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 116 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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. sharp — clever
  3. key — for a lock
  4. key — the most important part
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. tear — to rip
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. key — in music
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. season — in sport
  11. bark — to shout
  12. snap — to click
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. tear — from crying
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. season — of the year

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