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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. suit — in cards
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. toast — bread
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cell — a phone
  10. suit — to fit
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. suit — clothes
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rock — music
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. rock — a stone

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