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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: drill · field · scale · leaves · race · file · hide · bat

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. file — a tool
  6. field — farmland
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. scale — in music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. drill — the tool
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. file — a line of people
  14. race — the arms race
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. field — for sport
  17. scale — size or range
  18. race — humankind
  19. field — a subject
  20. race — a contest
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. file — a document
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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