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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.

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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: bark · wound · bat · lie · plane · pitcher · bass · present

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wound — an injury
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bass — low music
  8. bark — to shout
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. present — there
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — a gift
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bat — the animal
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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