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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: net · craft · game · scale · bat · trunk · land · season

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. craft — boats
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. scale — size or range
  11. land — to come down
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. game — a match
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bat — the animal
  20. craft — a skill
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. net — in sport
  24. scale — in music

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