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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. clip — a video
  5. fine — all right
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. shower — to wash
  11. game — a match
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — magic
  16. clip — to cut
  17. game — wild animals
  18. spell — letters
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. fine — high quality
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. shower — rain
  23. clip — for paper
  24. game — a kind of play

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