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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. net — for catching
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. root — of a plant
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. root — of a word
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. root — the cause
  16. net — after costs
  17. wind — moving air
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. game — wild animals
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. net — in sport

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