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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: cold · mouse · wound · racket · land · kick · fan · jam

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. land — to come down
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. land — a country
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cold — not warm
  14. kick — in football
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. land — ground
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. racket — for tennis

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