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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spell · bat · bass · board · kid · fine

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. fine — all right
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bass — low music
  6. spell — letters
  7. fine — high quality
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. board — a committee
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bat — the animal
  13. board — to get on
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. spell — a short time
  18. spell — magic

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