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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · pitch · spring · bat · arm · toast · saw · lie

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. toast — bread
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. spring — of water
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. pitch — completely
  7. saw — the tool
  8. spring — a coil
  9. game — a match
  10. bat — the animal
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. lie — to recline
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. spring — the season
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. game — wild animals
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. lie — an untruth

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