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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. chest — of your body
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. branch — a division
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cue — a signal
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. cue — for pool
  15. cue — a hint
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. chest — a box
  18. chest — of your body
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. march — music
  22. wound — an injury
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — happy

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