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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.

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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 · mate · spell · can · rule · hand · bowl · net

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. net — in sport
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. mate — a partner
  7. can — a tin
  8. net — for catching
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rule — a law
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. spell — magic
  13. bat — the animal
  14. rule — government
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. can — a tin
  18. mate — a friend
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. net — after costs
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. spell — letters

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