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

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. land — to come down
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spring — a coil
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. land — ground
  8. row — a line
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spring — of water
  18. swing — music
  19. land — a country
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. cap — a lid
  24. spring — the season

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