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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: last · row · ball · hide · band · racket · cabinet · wind

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ball — a dance
  7. ball — a great time
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. band — a ring
  10. band — a music group
  11. row — to paddle
  12. last — to go on
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. last — finally
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. last — final
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. wind — moving air
  21. row — a line
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. band — a rubber band

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