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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · bat · scale · hide · foot · mine · fork · swing

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fork — in a road
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bat — the animal
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. season — in sport
  14. swing — in golf
  15. foot — a measure
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. swing — music
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. mine — for digging
  20. season — of the year
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. scale — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. mine — belonging to me

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