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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. field — for sport
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. key — for a lock
  7. content — happy
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. field — farmland
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. field — a subject
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. press — newspapers
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. content — the amount
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. press — a publisher
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. key — in music
  24. press — to push

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