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

Word bank: racket · chest · date · fan · perch · pound · bay · cell

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  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. date — on the calendar
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cell — in biology
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cell — a phone
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. chest — a box
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pound — a weight
  23. chest — of your body
  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