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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 · ball · prune · bat · temple · racket · roll · nail

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cold — not warm
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. roll — a cake
  8. bat — the animal
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. ball — a dance
  11. roll — a list
  12. prune — to trim
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — an illness
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ball — a great time
  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