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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — not warm
  7. staff — employees
  8. game — wild animals
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cold — an illness
  12. game — a match
  13. field — farmland
  14. staff — a stick
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. toast — bread
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. staff — employees
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. cold — the Cold War

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