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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 124 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. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. drill — army training
  4. chest — of your body
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chest — a box
  7. sharp — clever
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. band — a ring
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. drill — a practice
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — a list
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. drill — the tool
  21. chest — of your body
  22. band — a music group
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. racket — for tennis

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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