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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: bowl · game · board · leaves · chest · bat · capital · pitcher

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. game — wild animals
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. bat — the animal
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — a city
  9. game — a match
  10. chest — a box
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. board — a committee
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. capital — money
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. chest — of your body
  22. board — to get on
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. board — a flat piece

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