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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: land · spring · deal · bat · ground · perch · race · can

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. ground — the earth
  3. spring — of water
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. can — to be able to
  6. ground — a position
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. land — ground
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — a contest
  14. deal — to handle
  15. can — a tin
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spring — the season
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. perch — the fish
  21. can — a tin
  22. race — humankind
  23. spring — a coil
  24. perch — for a bird

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