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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: spell · tear · net · hand · bulb · staff · row · racket

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bulb — for light
  4. row — to paddle
  5. hand — help
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. staff — employees
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. spell — letters
  12. net — for catching
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. staff — a stick
  17. spell — a short time
  18. row — a line
  19. net — after costs
  20. staff — employees
  21. hand — in cards
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spell — magic
  24. bulb — for light

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