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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 120 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. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. row — a line
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a tool
  14. shower — rain
  15. file — a document
  16. wake — a trail
  17. race — a contest
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. race — the arms race
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. race — humankind
  23. can — a tin
  24. shower — to wash

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