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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: bat · wind · cold · track · racket · coach · arm · ground

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cold — not warm
  11. track — a song
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. ground — crushed
  15. track — a path
  16. ground — the earth
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cold — an illness
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. ground — a position
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. bat — the animal

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