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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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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: hide · club · bowl · field · cell · rash · hand · key

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. club — a group
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. club — for golf
  13. field — farmland
  14. key — in music
  15. cell — in biology
  16. hand — help
  17. field — for sport
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. key — for a lock
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cell — a phone
  23. field — a subject
  24. key — the most important part

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