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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. staff — a stick
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. staff — employees
  5. field — farmland
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. staff — employees
  9. shower — rain
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. field — for sport
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. field — a subject
  14. content — the amount
  15. game — a match
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. content — happy
  19. ball — a dance
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. deal — to handle
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. ball — a great time
  24. game — wild animals

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