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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kid — to tease
  3. fall — the season
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. plane — a tool
  16. can — to be able to
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kid — child
  21. fall — to drop
  22. can — a tin
  23. can — a tin
  24. fall — to drop

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