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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: bowl · racket · lean · wave · cell · straw · spring · drill

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. drill — a practice
  6. spring — the season
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. drill — army training
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. lean — to bend
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. cell — a phone
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. lean — thin
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. racket — for tennis

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