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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: cold · racket · staff · wind · last · squash · fan · roll

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. last — to go on
  4. roll — a cake
  5. staff — employees
  6. squash — to crush
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cold — not warm
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wind — moving air
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wind — moving air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. squash — the sport
  22. staff — employees
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. roll — on a roll

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