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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  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. net — for catching
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. spring — of water
  4. net — in sport
  5. rock — music
  6. file — a line of people
  7. net — after costs
  8. spring — the season
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rock — a stone
  11. scale — in music
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. rash — hasty
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a document
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. scale — size or range
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stand — to bear
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. stand — on your feet
  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