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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: kick · last · racket · bat · cell · snap

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. kick — in football
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. bat — the animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. last — final
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. last — finally
  16. last — to go on
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. snap — to click

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