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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 116 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. current — happening now
  3. bat — the animal
  4. season — in sport
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. bass — the fish
  9. lean — thin
  10. season — of the year
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bass — low music
  20. current — electric
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. current — of water
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bat — in an idiom

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