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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 120 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: field · row · can · squash · scale · bat · hand · safe

  1. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. scale — in music
  4. can — to be able to
  5. bat — the animal
  6. squash — to crush
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — help
  9. can — a tin
  10. squash — the sport
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — a subject
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. field — for sport
  19. row — a line
  20. can — a tin
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. row — to paddle
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. scale — size or range

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