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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 · cold · band · racket · object · bat · spring · suit

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. object — an aim
  3. cold — an illness
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bat — the animal
  7. roll — a list
  8. object — a thing
  9. spring — of water
  10. suit — clothes
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spring — the season
  13. suit — in cards
  14. roll — a cake
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. suit — to fit
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. band — a ring
  20. cold — not warm
  21. band — a music group
  22. object — to protest
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. spring — a coil

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