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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · track · tube · bat · swing · mark · squash · bowl

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. track — a song
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. track — to keep track
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. mark — a grade
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. tube — a container
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mark — a trace
  13. cold — not warm
  14. swing — music
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. squash — the sport
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tube — the underground
  22. track — a path
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cold — an illness

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