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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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rock — music
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. tube — a container
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. prune — to trim
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. prune — to trim
  14. plane — a tool
  15. rock — a stone
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. fall — the season
  18. race — a contest
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. tube — the underground
  23. shower — rain
  24. tube — in a tire

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