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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. board — a committee
  3. ground — the earth
  4. spring — a coil
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. bat — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. sharp — clever
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. board — to get on
  12. spell — a short time
  13. spell — magic
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. spell — letters
  19. ground — a position
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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