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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. ground — crushed
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. row — to paddle
  6. dip — to sink
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cell — in biology
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. present — the time now
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. row — a line
  15. cell — a phone
  16. squash — to crush
  17. hand — in cards
  18. squash — the sport
  19. present — a gift
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. hand — help
  22. present — there
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. racket — for tennis

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