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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kid — to tease
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. kid — child
  11. snap — to click
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. net — in sport
  16. swing — music
  17. ground — the earth
  18. swing — to play on
  19. net — after costs
  20. swing — in golf
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. net — for catching
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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