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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: hide · mouse · bat · wake · field · tube · stick · mate

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. field — a subject
  24. bat — in an idiom

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