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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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. pop — music
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pop — to visit
  5. object — an aim
  6. object — a thing
  7. pop — soda
  8. net — after costs
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. net — in sport
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. rash — hasty
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. object — to protest
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bat — the animal
  22. net — for catching
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. rash — a series

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