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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: field · hide · hand · firm · spring · scale · snap · toast

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — in cards
  5. firm — steady
  6. spring — a coil
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. field — a subject
  9. scale — in music
  10. spring — of water
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. scale — size or range
  14. snap — to click
  15. field — for sport
  16. firm — decided
  17. spring — the season
  18. field — farmland
  19. firm — a company
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. toast — bread
  24. scale — for weighing

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