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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. spring — of water
  3. hand — help
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. suit — in cards
  7. mine — for digging
  8. rush — hurry
  9. suit — to fit
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. spring — the season
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. suit — clothes
  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