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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: wake · club · season · bat · kick · dip · spring · racket

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. club — for golf
  5. dip — to sink
  6. spring — of water
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. spring — a coil
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. club — for dancing
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. club — a group
  14. bat — the animal
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wake — a trail
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. kick — in football
  21. spring — the season
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — in sport

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