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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: cap · row · hand · racket · field · mine · arm · dip

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cap — a lid
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cap — of ice
  6. field — farmland
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. field — a subject
  9. hand — in cards
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. cap — a hat
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. dip — to sink
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. row — a line
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. hand — help
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mine — for digging

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