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

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. season — in sport
  3. bat — the animal
  4. season — of the year
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. file — a tool
  10. object — a thing
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. object — an aim
  13. wound — an injury
  14. file — a line of people
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. object — to protest
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wound — an injury
  23. file — a document
  24. bat — for baseball

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