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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: craft · deal · rest · date · cold · racket

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cold — not warm
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rest — a break
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. date — the fruit
  12. craft — boats
  13. cold — an illness
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. deal — to handle
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. cold — the Cold War

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