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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 116 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: perch · kid · mine · plane · bat · game · rest · spell

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spell — letters
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — a tool
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. spell — a short time
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. mine — for digging
  16. kid — child
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spell — magic
  22. game — a match
  23. kid — to tease
  24. game — a kind of play

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