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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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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. perch — the fish
  7. ground — a position
  8. wind — moving air
  9. field — for sport
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. field — a subject
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mate — a friend
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. field — farmland
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. bowl — a dish

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