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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. sharp — clever
  3. march — the month
  4. cap — a hat
  5. object — a thing
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. object — to protest
  9. ball — a great time
  10. march — music
  11. ball — a dance
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hand — help
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cap — a lid
  20. march — the month
  21. cap — of ice
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. object — an aim

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