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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: bowl · root · lean · bat · fall · rock · wound · plane

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lean — thin
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. wound — an injury
  9. fall — to drop
  10. root — the cause
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. rock — music
  13. root — of a word
  14. root — of a plant
  15. rock — a stone
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fall — the season
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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