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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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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 · squash · chest · bat · wound · bank · rule · fine

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. chest — a box
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. bank — for money
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fine — all right
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. wound — an injury
  15. squash — the sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rule — a law
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rule — government
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. squash — to crush

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