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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. object — an aim
  3. spring — a coil
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. spring — the season
  7. wound — an injury
  8. plane — a tool
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wound — an injury
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. land — a country
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. object — to protest
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. spring — of water
  18. season — of the year
  19. object — a thing
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. season — in sport
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. straw — dry grass

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