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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: snap · hand · squash · ball · wind · hide · racket · last

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. ball — a dance
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. last — to go on
  9. squash — the sport
  10. last — final
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. hand — help
  16. last — finally
  17. squash — to crush
  18. hand — in cards
  19. snap — to click
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. ball — a great time
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. wind — moving air

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