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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · deal · game · field · racket · rash · hide · fan

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. game — a match
  3. clip — a video
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rash — hasty
  7. deal — to handle
  8. field — for sport
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — for paper
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. field — farmland
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. rash — a series

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