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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: hide · ball · mine · row · firm · field · cue · bat

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. field — a subject
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. row — to paddle
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. cue — a hint
  9. row — a line
  10. cue — a signal
  11. field — for sport
  12. ball — a great time
  13. firm — steady
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. mine — for digging
  19. field — farmland
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. firm — a company
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bat — the animal

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