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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. scale — in music
  4. game — a match
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mug — a face
  8. deal — to handle
  9. chest — of your body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. chest — a box
  12. wound — an injury
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. scale — size or range
  15. mug — a cup
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. kid — to tease
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chest — of your body
  24. kid — child

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