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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 116 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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. net — in sport
  8. suit — in cards
  9. file — a document
  10. suit — clothes
  11. file — a tool
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. stem — to come from
  14. kick — in football
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bat — the animal
  17. suit — to fit
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. file — a line of people
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. net — after costs
  24. net — for catching

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