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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · cabinet · pitcher · field · race · hide

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. 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. bat — in an idiom
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. race — the arms race
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. field — a subject
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. race — a contest
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. field — farmland
  13. bat — the animal
  14. race — humankind
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. field — for sport
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. 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