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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: coach · bowl · cell · hide · lie · fall · hand · field

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fall — to drop
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. field — for sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. cell — in biology
  13. lie — to recline
  14. fall — the season
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hand — help
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. field — farmland
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. 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