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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. saw — the tool
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cell — in biology
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cold — an illness
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. squash — to crush
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. shower — to wash
  15. cell — a phone
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cold — not warm
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. shower — rain
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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