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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — to wash
  5. present — there
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. present — a gift
  9. wind — moving air
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. rock — music
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. content — happy
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. rock — a stone
  21. net — for catching
  22. shower — rain
  23. present — the time now
  24. content — the amount

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