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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spell · field · pitcher · racket · mate · bat · rest · clip

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. spell — a short time
  3. mate — to breed
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rest — a break
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. spell — magic
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rest — what's left
  14. spell — letters
  15. clip — a video
  16. field — a subject
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. field — for sport
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — a friend
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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