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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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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: season · board · ground · pass · rest · bat · spell · hand

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bat — the animal
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spell — magic
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. season — of the year
  8. pass — a permit
  9. ground — a position
  10. rest — a break
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. season — in sport
  14. ground — the earth
  15. board — to get on
  16. spell — a short time
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rest — what's left
  21. board — a committee
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. spell — letters
  24. pass — to spend time

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