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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. game — a match
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. game — wild animals
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. cold — an illness

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