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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: season · object · hand · cap · rash · bat · land · pitcher

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. cap — a hat
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. object — a thing
  5. land — ground
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hand — in cards
  10. season — of the year
  11. rash — a series
  12. hand — help
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cap — of ice
  15. land — to come down
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — an aim
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — a country
  24. cap — a lid

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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