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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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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stock — shares
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. stock — goods
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. bat — the animal
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — on a finger

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