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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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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: tear · content · cell · fine · last · racket · bat · nail

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. last — to go on
  3. content — happy
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fine — all right
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. last — finally
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. tear — to rip
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. content — the amount
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cell — in biology
  22. last — final
  23. fine — high quality
  24. cell — a phone

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