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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: bat · nail · hand · kid · mouse · rash · field · safe

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. hand — help
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. hand — in cards
  8. kid — child
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. rash — hasty
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. kid — to tease
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bat — the animal
  24. rash — a series

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