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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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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: net · bat · hide · bowl · present · cell

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cell — in biology
  3. net — for catching
  4. present — there
  5. cell — a phone
  6. present — a gift
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. net — in sport
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bat — the animal
  12. net — after costs
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. present — the time now
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. hide — to keep secret

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