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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. swing — in golf
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. swing — music
  11. bear — the animal
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. row — to paddle
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bear — the animal
  19. row — a line
  20. lie — to recline
  21. bat — the animal
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. date — the fruit

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