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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. root — of a word
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pit — in a race
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. pitch — completely
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pit — a hole
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — the most important part
  16. root — of a plant
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. wax — to grow
  19. key — in music
  20. root — the cause
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kid — child
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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