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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rash — a series
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. spring — of water
  8. foot — a measure
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bass — the fish
  11. spring — a coil
  12. perch — the fish
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. spring — the season
  16. rash — hasty
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bass — low music
  24. sharp — clever

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