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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. When will it ________________ you to start?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. ball — a great time
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wind — moving air
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bat — the animal
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. root — the cause
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — a subject
  15. rash — a series
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. suit — clothes
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. field — for sport
  20. root — of a word
  21. wind — moving air
  22. root — of a plant
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. suit — to fit

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