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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: club · racket · drill · date · present · cold

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. date — the fruit
  4. drill — the tool
  5. present — the time now
  6. drill — army training
  7. club — for golf
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. cold — not warm
  10. drill — a practice
  11. present — a gift
  12. club — a group
  13. present — there
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. club — for dancing
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. racket — for tennis

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