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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. chest — of your body
  4. game — a match
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitch — completely
  8. season — of the year
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. wax — to grow
  16. chest — a box
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. fork — in a road
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. season — in sport
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. game — wild animals
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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