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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 120 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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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: bat · court · bowl · squash · pound · wind · pit · hide

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pound — a weight
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. court — for sport
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. court — of law
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. pit — in a race
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bat — the animal
  17. squash — to crush
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pit — a hole
  21. court — of a king
  22. wind — moving air
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. bat — in an idiom

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