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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cap — a hat
  10. scale — size or range
  11. bat — the animal
  12. hand — help
  13. squash — to crush
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. squash — the sport
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. scale — in music
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. fan — a supporter

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