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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: kick · last · racket · bat · cell · snap · bowl · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. last — to go on
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. kick — in football
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cell — in biology
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. last — finally
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bat — the animal
  16. snap — to click
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. cell — a phone
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. last — final
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cold — not warm

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