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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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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: date · club · rest · hand · foot · racket · ruler · cold

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. club — for dancing
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. rest — what's left
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rest — what's left
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cold — an illness
  10. foot — a measure
  11. hand — in cards
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. date — the fruit
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. hand — help
  18. club — a group
  19. club — for golf
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. cold — not warm
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. rest — a break
  24. ruler — for measuring

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