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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. ball — a great time
  4. spell — letters
  5. field — a subject
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — a short time
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bat — the animal
  18. ball — a round shape

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