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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — decided
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. chest — of your body
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. chest — of your body
  10. date — the fruit
  11. game — wild animals
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pop — soda
  15. game — a match
  16. firm — steady
  17. pop — music
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. chest — a box
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pop — to visit
  24. perch — the fish

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