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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 · file · plane · board · arm · season · bass

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. track — a path
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. track — to keep track
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. track — a song
  10. board — a committee
  11. file — a line of people
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. season — of the year
  16. file — a document
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — to get on
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. file — a tool

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