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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 120 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bank — for money
  7. pitch — completely
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. mug — a face
  18. bank — of a river
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. mug — a cup
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bank — for money
  23. shower — rain
  24. mug — to rob

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