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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · lie · kid · mine · bat · spell · pitch · coach

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. spell — magic
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spell — a short time
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mine — for digging
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. kid — to tease
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. pitch — completely
  20. kid — child
  21. bat — the animal
  22. spell — letters
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. pitch — a sports field

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