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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wax — to grow
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cue — for pool
  7. cue — a hint
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. race — humankind
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. race — the arms race
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cue — a signal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. hand — in cards
  19. race — a contest
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hand — help

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