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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: squash · swing · wake · bowl · cold · temple · nail · bat

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bat — the animal
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. squash — to crush
  15. swing — to play on
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. wake — a trail
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — music
  24. cold — the Cold War

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