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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. mate — a friend
  3. kid — child
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. wound — an injury
  6. track — a path
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. track — a song
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wound — an injury
  14. tear — to rip
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. mate — to breed
  17. deal — to handle
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mate — a partner
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. kid — to tease
  23. track — to keep track
  24. tear — from crying

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