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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. net — for catching
  5. file — a tool
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bat — the animal
  12. hand — help
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stand — to bear
  15. net — in sport
  16. perch — the fish
  17. ball — a great time
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. hand — in cards
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. net — after costs
  23. file — a document
  24. perch — for a bird

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