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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. spring — the season
  3. hand — help
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. field — a subject
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. spring — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bat — the animal
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. wind — moving air
  14. field — for sport
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. spring — a coil
  21. field — farmland
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bat — for baseball

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