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

Word bank: cap · tear · net · rock · face · bowl · racket · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tear — from crying
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. face — to confront
  5. net — after costs
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — to rip
  8. face — part of the head
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rock — a stone
  11. kid — child
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. cap — a lid
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. net — for catching
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rock — music
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. face — to point toward
  23. net — in sport
  24. cap — of ice

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