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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: bowl · racket · lash · cold · game · nail · current · last

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  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. last — to go on
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. current — happening now
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. game — a match
  8. current — electric
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. last — finally
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. current — of water
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. last — final
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cold — an illness
  23. game — wild animals
  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