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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. land — ground
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. season — of the year
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. land — to come down
  16. season — in sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bat — the animal
  24. land — a country

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