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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
468
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: can · bat · plane · march · pitcher · cap · chest · mug

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cap — a hat
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. can — a tin
  5. mug — to rob
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. plane — a tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. can — a tin
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mug — a face
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. mug — a cup
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. chest — of your body
  18. march — music
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. march — the month
  21. cap — of ice
  22. chest — of your body
  23. can — to be able to
  24. chest — a box

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