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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: bowl · last · bat · toast · jam · season · wound · arm

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. last — to go on
  6. wound — an injury
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. last — finally
  9. season — of the year
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. toast — bread
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. last — final
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. season — in sport
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bowl — to roll

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