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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: lie · bat · staff · roll · land · spring · racket · fall

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. staff — employees
  3. land — ground
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. roll — a list
  6. land — to come down
  7. roll — a cake
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. land — a country
  10. staff — a stick
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. spring — of water
  13. bat — the animal
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. fall — to drop
  17. spring — a coil
  18. staff — employees
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — the season
  24. fall — to drop

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