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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. kid — child
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. net — for catching
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wind — moving air
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bass — low music
  13. net — in sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. swing — music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bass — the fish
  19. swing — to play on
  20. net — after costs
  21. kid — to tease
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bat — the animal

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