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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: season · bat · mark · sharp · cabinet · racket · foot · saw

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. season — in sport
  4. saw — the tool
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. season — of the year
  9. foot — a measure
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. saw — the tool
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bat — the animal
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. mark — a grade
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. sharp — clever
  24. mark — a trace

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