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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. bat — the animal
  3. field — farmland
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. last — to go on
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. net — after costs
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. last — finally
  15. field — a subject
  16. net — for catching
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. last — final
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. net — in sport
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. field — for sport

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