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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. saw — the tool
  11. season — of the year
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. kid — to tease
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. race — the arms race
  17. kid — child
  18. saw — the tool
  19. race — humankind
  20. race — a contest
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. season — in sport

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