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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cabinet · bass · perch · plane · sharp · wind · game · bat

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  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. sharp — clever
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. game — wild animals
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bass — low music
  10. plane — a tool
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. game — a match
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. wind — moving air
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bass — the fish
  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