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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. season — of the year
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. season — in sport
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. root — of a word
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. field — farmland
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. root — the cause
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  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