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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: racket · field · cap · deal · hide · row · bark · hand

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bark — to shout
  4. hand — in cards
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. field — a subject
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cap — a lid
  11. field — farmland
  12. hand — help
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. deal — to handle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. field — for sport
  24. racket — for tennis

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