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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 116 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: rush · tear · cold · mate · lean · plane · racket · bat

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mate — a partner
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. mate — a friend
  8. lean — to bend
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lean — thin
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. mate — to breed
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cold — not warm
  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