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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. rash — a series
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. bat — the animal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pass — a permit
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rash — hasty
  12. cold — not warm
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wound — an injury
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bear — the animal
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bear — the animal
  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