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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cold — an illness
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. last — finally
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. last — to go on
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. last — final
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. branch — a division
  24. mine — for digging

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