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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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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: bat · current · dip · cold · court · cap · lash · racket

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cap — a hat
  4. bat — the animal
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to sink
  7. court — of law
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cold — not warm
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. cold — an illness
  15. court — for sport
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. cap — of ice
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. court — of a king
  22. current — happening now
  23. cap — a lid
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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