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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pop — to visit
  3. kid — to tease
  4. firm — a company
  5. net — in sport
  6. land — ground
  7. pop — music
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. ground — a position
  10. pop — soda
  11. ground — the earth
  12. land — to come down
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. firm — steady
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. drill — army training
  18. land — a country
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. firm — decided
  21. ground — crushed
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. kid — child

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