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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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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: cell · game · present · bat · net · board · lean · season

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. lean — thin
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. season — of the year
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. present — the time now
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cell — a phone
  10. game — wild animals
  11. board — to get on
  12. net — for catching
  13. present — there
  14. net — in sport
  15. cell — in biology
  16. present — a gift
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — to bend
  19. game — a match
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. net — after costs
  24. game — a kind of play

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