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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: rush · bowl · land · plane · ball · chest · hand · season

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. rush — hurry
  6. season — in sport
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. season — of the year
  10. ball — a great time
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. chest — of your body
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. land — to come down
  15. hand — help
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. chest — a box
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. land — a country
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. land — ground
  23. chest — of your body
  24. hand — in cards

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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