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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: racket · last · jam · lie · spring · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. spring — of water
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. spring — a coil
  9. last — finally
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. spring — the season
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth

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