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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stand — to bear
  4. last — final
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — help
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. last — finally
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. kick — in football
  20. last — to go on
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rash — a series

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