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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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468
Word bank
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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mug — a face
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — size or range
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. cell — in biology
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. perch — the fish
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spring — of water
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. mug — a cup
  18. cell — a phone
  19. spring — the season
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. spring — a coil
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mug — to rob

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