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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 · bat · spring · chair · rock · foot · game

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. foot — a measure
  9. game — wild animals
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rock — a stone
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rock — music
  14. spring — the season
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. season — of the year
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. chair — a leader
  19. season — in sport
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. game — a match
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. bat — the animal
  24. season — to add flavour

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