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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 116 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: rash · hide · bat · cold · dip · mouse · field · pop

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. field — farmland
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. rash — a series
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. field — for sport
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. pop — to visit
  19. field — a subject
  20. rash — hasty
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — music

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