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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 120 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: pit · field · stock · hide · file · mouse · bat · season

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. pit — in a race
  4. field — a subject
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pit — a hole
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bat — the animal
  10. season — in sport
  11. file — a tool
  12. field — for sport
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. stock — shares
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. file — a line of people
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. season — of the year
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stock — goods
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. file — a document

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