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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. charge — electricity
  4. cue — for pool
  5. sharp — clever
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stock — shares
  8. net — in sport
  9. cue — a signal
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stock — goods
  13. cue — a hint
  14. tear — from crying
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — after costs
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. tear — from crying
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. charge — a price
  23. tear — to rip
  24. charge — in control

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