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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: land · racket · can · club · bat · leaves · ground · foot

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. club — for dancing
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. ground — crushed
  5. can — a tin
  6. club — for golf
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. ground — a position
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. club — a group
  12. bat — the animal
  13. foot — a measure
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. land — ground
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. land — to come down
  20. can — to be able to
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. land — a country
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. ground — the earth

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