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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 120 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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. band — a music group
  4. rash — hasty
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rash — a series
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. snap — to click
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. band — a ring
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. foot — a measure
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. rash — on the skin

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