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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  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. wave — of the sea
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. swing — to play on
  6. roll — a cake
  7. swing — in golf
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. roll — a list
  13. wound — an injury
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. tube — a container
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wound — an injury
  19. swing — music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tube — the underground
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. snap — to click
  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