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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kick — in football
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. land — ground
  6. saw — the tool
  7. swing — in golf
  8. net — in sport
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. squash — to crush
  13. net — for catching
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. net — after costs
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. squash — the sport

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