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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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468
Word bank
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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. snap — to click
  3. wound — an injury
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. fork — in a road
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. press — a publisher
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. field — a subject
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. press — newspapers
  13. field — farmland
  14. pit — a hole
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. field — for sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. press — to push
  21. pit — in a race
  22. wound — an injury
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. fork — a garden tool

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