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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 116 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: bat · bark · racket · cell · swing · deal · mouse · mine

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bark — to shout
  12. swing — music
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. cell — a phone
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — to handle
  24. racket — for tennis

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