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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: racket · bat · board · lie · craft · bulb · field · cold

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bulb — for light
  7. field — farmland
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. craft — boats
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. cold — not warm
  13. craft — a skill
  14. field — a subject
  15. bulb — for light
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. field — for sport
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bulb — of a plant

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