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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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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: racket · hand · wake · temple · snap · tear · cabinet · bat

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. hand — in cards
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. hand — help
  11. tear — to rip
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bat — the animal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bat — for baseball

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