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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 116 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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rash — a series
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. field — farmland
  21. lean — to bend
  22. prune — to trim
  23. lean — thin
  24. field — for 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