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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. staff — employees
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pitch — completely
  11. plane — a tool
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. staff — a stick
  14. cold — not warm
  15. last — to go on
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. last — final
  23. staff — employees
  24. last — finally

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