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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. squash — to crush
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. squash — the sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. press — a publisher
  11. ball — a great time
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — in biology
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. press — to push
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — in sport
  18. field — for sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. ball — a dance
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bark — to shout
  24. cell — a phone

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