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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: field · cap · game · mate · cell · hide · wax · file

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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. game — a kind of play
  4. mate — a friend
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cell — in biology
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. field — a subject
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. field — for sport
  13. mate — to breed
  14. mate — a partner
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. file — a document
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cell — a phone
  20. game — wild animals
  21. wax — to grow
  22. field — farmland
  23. cap — a lid
  24. game — a match

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