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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: mate · face · racket · cabinet · cold · club · drill · hide

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a friend
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. club — for dancing
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. face — to point toward
  13. mate — a partner
  14. drill — the tool
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. face — part of the head
  20. face — to confront
  21. drill — army training
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — a group
  24. drill — a practice

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