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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cold — an illness
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. hand — in cards
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ball — a dance
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. cold — not warm
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. toast — bread
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. cold — the Cold War

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