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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: racket · bulb · bat · swing · pound · wound · last · spell

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. last — finally
  13. spell — magic
  14. spell — letters
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bulb — for light
  17. swing — music
  18. last — final
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bulb — for light
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. swing — in golf

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