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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 120 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: plane · dip · pass · bore · bat · field · wind · stock

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bore — to tire
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wind — moving air
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. bat — the animal
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. field — for sport
  15. dip — to sink
  16. field — farmland
  17. plane — a tool
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. field — a subject
  21. stock — goods
  22. pass — a permit
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bore — to drill

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