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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 · mouse · arm · wound · dip · field · saw · bat

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cap — a lid
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. dip — to sink
  7. field — a subject
  8. wound — an injury
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. field — farmland
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cap — of ice
  23. bat — the animal
  24. dip — to dunk

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