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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. land — ground
  6. staff — employees
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. band — a music group
  9. rock — a stone
  10. file — a tool
  11. foot — a measure
  12. field — farmland
  13. rock — music
  14. staff — employees
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — a country
  19. band — a ring
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. file — a document
  22. land — to come down
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. staff — a stick

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