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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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. lie — to recline
  3. mug — a cup
  4. mug — a face
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. spell — magic
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. chip — for betting
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mug — to rob
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. spell — letters
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. scale — size or range
  24. scale — in music

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