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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 120 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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. chest — a box
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wound — an injury
  6. shower — to wash
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. craft — a skill
  10. wake — a trail
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. craft — boats
  19. shower — rain
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wake — before a funeral

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