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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — wild animals
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. net — after costs
  9. perch — the fish
  10. game — a match
  11. can — a tin
  12. tear — to rip
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. can — to be able to
  16. net — in sport
  17. rash — a series
  18. clip — to cut
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. tear — from crying
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — for catching
  23. can — a tin
  24. perch — for a bird

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