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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. net — after costs
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. snap — to click
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. field — a subject
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. field — farmland
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. tube — the underground
  19. net — for catching
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. face — to confront
  22. field — for sport
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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