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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. season — in sport
  6. face — to confront
  7. hand — help
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. face — part of the head
  12. land — to come down
  13. plane — a tool
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. face — to point toward
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. land — a country
  20. season — of the year
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bat — the animal

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