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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. march — the month
  4. net — for catching
  5. spell — a short time
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bat — the animal
  8. net — in sport
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spell — letters
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spell — magic
  14. march — music
  15. net — after costs
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. march — the month
  18. bat — in an idiom

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