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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: deal · date · field · bay · racket · hand · stem · hide

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. field — a subject
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. deal — to handle
  5. field — for sport
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. field — farmland
  9. date — the fruit
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. hand — help
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stem — to come from
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stem — of a plant

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