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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: swing · file · hand · stem · pass · hide · bat · ball

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. file — a tool
  3. ball — a great time
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. swing — in golf
  6. pass — a permit
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. swing — music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. hand — in cards
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ball — a dance
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. file — a document
  24. hand — help

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