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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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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wind — moving air
  4. net — after costs
  5. wind — moving air
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. file — a tool
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. shower — rain
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. content — happy
  17. net — in sport
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. file — a line of people
  21. net — for catching
  22. shower — to wash
  23. file — a document
  24. band — a music group

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