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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.

Make a worksheet

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: leaves · pit · bat · bass · kid · craft · plane · hand

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. kid — to tease
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pit — a hole
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. plane — a tool
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. hand — help
  23. craft — boats
  24. craft — a skill

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