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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. court — for sport
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tear — from crying
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. court — of a king
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — in sport
  13. court — of law
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. tear — from crying
  16. pitch — completely
  17. shower — rain
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. spell — magic
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. shower — to wash
  22. tear — to rip
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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