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

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. wound — an injury
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bat — the animal
  15. rule — government
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. rule — a law
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. squash — the sport
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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