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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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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: march · ball · kid · pit · squash · racket · pound · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. squash — the sport
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pit — a hole
  9. kid — child
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. ball — a dance
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. ball — a great time
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pit — in a race
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. hand — help
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. squash — to crush
  23. march — music
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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