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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  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. kid — to tease
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. land — a country
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. land — to come down
  10. can — to be able to
  11. hand — in cards
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. spell — a short time
  16. kid — child
  17. land — ground
  18. spell — magic
  19. spell — letters
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. can — a tin
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. can — a tin
  24. racket — for tennis

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