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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: ruler · racket · swing · cold · bat · club · track · temple

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. club — for golf
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. swing — in golf
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — an illness
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. swing — to play on
  12. track — a song
  13. bat — the animal
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. club — a group
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. track — a path
  18. cold — not warm
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. track — to keep track
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. club — for dancing
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. swing — music

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