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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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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hand — help
  4. sharp — clever
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — ground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hand — in cards
  11. land — a country
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. rest — a break
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. rest — what's left
  16. tube — a container
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. tube — the underground
  19. rest — what's left
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. sharp — exactly

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