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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 120 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 · dip · firm · bat · racket · mate · bore · cold

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. craft — boats
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bore — to tire
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. firm — a company
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. dip — to sink
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. cold — an illness
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. mate — to breed
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bore — to drill
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mate — a friend
  20. firm — decided
  21. craft — a skill
  22. firm — steady
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. bat — the animal

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