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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rock · cold · pitcher · kid · mine · racket · net · lash

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. cold — not warm
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kid — child
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. rock — a stone
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. rock — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cold — an illness

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