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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. kid — to tease
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. field — farmland
  7. field — a subject
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. field — for sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. wax — to grow
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. kid — child
  23. plane — a tool
  24. wound — an injury

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