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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. present — a gift
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. present — there
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fine — high quality
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. present — the time now
  11. kid — child
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — to tease
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. spell — magic
  23. fine — all right
  24. nail — for a hammer

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