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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 · wound · bat · mouse · chip · ground · stand · pop

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. ground — a position
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — the animal
  7. chip — to eat
  8. pop — music
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ground — the earth
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. pop — soda
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chip — for betting
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. season — of the year
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — to bear
  24. wound — an injury

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