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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: roll · bat · cold · march · object · racket · mouse · rest

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. rest — a break
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. object — a thing
  8. roll — a cake
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. roll — a list
  15. cold — an illness
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. object — to protest
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. march — the month

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