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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: cold · bowl · kid · object · racket · snap · fork · club

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. snap — to click
  5. cold — an illness
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — child
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. club — a group
  11. cold — not warm
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. fork — in a road
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. object — an aim
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. object — a thing
  22. club — for golf
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. object — to protest

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