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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: field · race · mate · cell · spell · hide

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. field — a subject
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. cell — in biology
  6. field — farmland
  7. mate — to breed
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. mate — a friend
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. race — the arms race
  12. spell — letters
  13. mate — a partner
  14. field — for sport
  15. race — a contest
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — a short time
  18. race — humankind

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