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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hand — help
  6. spell — magic
  7. mark — a trace
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — letters
  13. chest — a box
  14. wake — a trail
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rest — a break
  21. spell — a short time
  22. fork — in a road
  23. mark — a grade
  24. wake — before a funeral

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