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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: nail · cabinet · squash · field · plane · roll · bat · cue

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. roll — a list
  4. field — a subject
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bat — the animal
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. field — farmland
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cue — for pool
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. squash — to crush
  18. cue — a hint
  19. field — for sport
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bat — in an idiom

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