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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. lie — to recline
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. rash — a series
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. net — for catching
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. net — in sport
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. rash — hasty
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. net — after costs
  24. cap — of ice

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