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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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — a trace
  4. hand — help
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. shower — rain
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tube — a container
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. bat — the animal
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. sharp — clever
  23. tube — the underground
  24. racket — for tennis

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