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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. spell — letters
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. current — electric
  7. field — farmland
  8. current — of water
  9. current — happening now
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. spell — a short time
  12. drill — a practice
  13. field — a subject
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. spell — magic
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. kick — in football
  21. field — for sport
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. leaves — to go away

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