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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. swing — music
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cold — an illness
  9. season — of the year
  10. dip — to sink
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. season — in sport
  18. cold — not warm
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — happy
  22. swing — in golf
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. dip — to dunk

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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