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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 · bat · lie · cabinet · saw · racket · wound · wax

  1. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. saw — the tool
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wound — an injury
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. saw — the tool
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. season — of the year
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. wound — an injury
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. season — in sport
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. lie — to recline
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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