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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
468
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: cap · field · present · can · bat · wave · cell · spring

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. field — farmland
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. cell — in biology
  7. can — a tin
  8. field — a subject
  9. cap — of ice
  10. present — a gift
  11. can — a tin
  12. spring — a coil
  13. can — to be able to
  14. field — for sport
  15. spring — of water
  16. present — there
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. present — the time now
  21. spring — the season
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cap — a lid

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