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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cold — not warm
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. ball — a great time
  13. saw — the tool
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. ball — a dance
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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