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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: pop · season · snap · bat · bound · pitcher · wind · saw

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  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. bound — tied together
  2. wind — moving air
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. season — of the year
  5. saw — the tool
  6. snap — to click
  7. bat — the animal
  8. season — in sport
  9. bound — certain
  10. pop — to visit
  11. bound — obliged
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. saw — the tool
  15. pop — music
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pop — soda
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  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