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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: net · suit · racket · jam · shower · hand · field · mine

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. mine — for digging
  6. field — farmland
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. suit — to fit
  9. hand — in cards
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. suit — clothes
  12. shower — to wash
  13. net — after costs
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — in sport
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. hand — help
  21. field — a subject
  22. shower — rain
  23. field — for sport
  24. suit — in cards

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