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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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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. game — wild animals
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spell — letters
  6. face — to confront
  7. kid — child
  8. spell — magic
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. spell — a short time
  11. game — a match
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bear — the animal
  16. kid — to tease
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — a contest
  19. bass — low music
  20. race — the arms race
  21. face — part of the head
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. face — to point toward
  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