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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 124 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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. bat — the animal
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. spell — magic
  7. saw — the tool
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. fall — to drop
  10. game — a match
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spring — the season
  14. stand — to bear
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. fall — the season
  19. saw — the tool
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spell — a short time
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. spell — letters
  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