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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: wind · sharp · season · racket · firm · track · date · bat

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. firm — steady
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. firm — a company
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bat — the animal
  12. firm — decided
  13. season — of the year
  14. wind — moving air
  15. track — a path
  16. sharp — clever
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. date — the fruit
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  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