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

Word bank: pound · coach · bat · pass · cold · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pass — a permit
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. cold — not warm
  15. pound — a weight
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bat — for baseball

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