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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: bat · track · deal · wax · hand · kick · bowl · capital

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. deal — to handle
  7. track — to keep track
  8. capital — a city
  9. capital — money
  10. track — a song
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. kick — in football
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. hand — in cards
  23. track — a path
  24. bat — for baseball

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