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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wound — an injury
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bulb — for light
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. charge — electricity
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. charge — a price
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. game — a match
  12. charge — in control
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wound — an injury
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. pitch — completely

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