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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bat — the animal
  5. saw — the tool
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. bear — the animal
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pitch — completely
  16. saw — the tool
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. rash — a series
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. rash — on the skin

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