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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. staff — a stick
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. date — the fruit
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. staff — employees
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. pass — a permit
  19. dip — to sink
  20. field — for sport
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a tool
  23. staff — employees
  24. file — a line of people

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