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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: wake · racket · safe · kid · cold · fork · bat · coach

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. bat — the animal
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. fork — in a road
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. wake — a trail
  24. kid — to tease

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