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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cell — in biology
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. wound — an injury
  5. shower — to wash
  6. content — happy
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. content — the amount
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mug — a cup
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. scale — size or range
  13. scale — in music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. mug — a face
  16. shower — rain
  17. row — to paddle
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cell — a phone
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. row — a line
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. mug — to rob

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