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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rash — a series
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. last — to go on
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chest — of your body
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. wind — moving air
  16. last — final
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. chest — a box
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. last — finally
  23. dip — to sink
  24. chest — of your body

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