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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rest — a break
  4. swing — to play on
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. rest — what's left
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — hasty
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. rash — a series
  13. date — the fruit
  14. cold — an illness
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. rest — what's left
  18. content — happy
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. content — the amount
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. date — on the calendar

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