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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: rash · file · hide · chest · board · bowl · degree · field

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. degree — an amount
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. rash — hasty
  8. field — for sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. file — a tool
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. board — a committee
  14. rash — a series
  15. field — a subject
  16. degree — from a university
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. board — to get on
  19. file — a document
  20. degree — temperature
  21. field — farmland
  22. chest — a box
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. file — a line of people

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