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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. hand — help
  6. spring — a coil
  7. wound — an injury
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wake — a trail
  11. spring — of water
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wax — to grow
  15. rush — hurry
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. spring — the season
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wax — in the ear

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