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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: net · board · bear · scale · hide · sharp · club · bat

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bear — the animal
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. club — for dancing
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. board — a committee
  10. net — after costs
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. board — to get on
  15. club — a group
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. scale — in music
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. club — for golf

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