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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
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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 · bowl · drill · cell · squash · bat · plane · field

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. drill — a practice
  4. season — in sport
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bat — the animal
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. drill — army training
  15. field — a subject
  16. squash — the sport
  17. field — for sport
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. squash — to crush
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. field — farmland
  23. plane — a tool
  24. season — of the year

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