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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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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: hand · pitcher · bat · file · bowl · season · clip · stand

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. clip — a video
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. season — of the year
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. file — a tool
  14. clip — to cut
  15. hand — help
  16. bat — the animal
  17. file — a document
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stand — to bear
  21. season — in sport
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. pitcher — a jug

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