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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. face — to point toward
  3. kid — to tease
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. wind — moving air
  6. game — a match
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. face — to confront
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. row — to paddle
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. wind — moving air
  17. face — part of the head
  18. kid — child
  19. game — wild animals
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. row — a line

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