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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: swing · object · fall · mug · racket · row · bat · cold

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fall — the season
  5. mug — a face
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. mug — a cup
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. swing — in golf
  12. fall — to drop
  13. row — to paddle
  14. object — a thing
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. fall — to drop
  17. object — to protest
  18. cold — an illness
  19. swing — music
  20. mug — to rob
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. row — a line
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bat — in an idiom

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