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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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468
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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. kick — in football
  6. game — wild animals
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. game — a match
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — for sport
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. field — farmland
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. field — a subject
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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