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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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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: bank · cap · pass · lash · field · bat · cell · ground

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. ground — a position
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. bat — the animal
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — a subject
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pass — a permit
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. cap — of ice
  21. bank — for money
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. ground — the earth
  24. cap — a lid

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