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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 120 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. band — a ring
  4. bank — for money
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. object — an aim
  10. spell — a short time
  11. object — to protest
  12. object — a thing
  13. band — a music group
  14. spell — magic
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. fall — to drop
  18. spell — letters
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bat — the animal
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. bank — for money
  24. cold — an illness

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