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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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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: net · bat · hide · bowl · present · cell · wake · stand

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. net — in sport
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stand — to bear
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. present — there
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. net — for catching
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. net — after costs
  19. present — a gift
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. present — the time now
  24. hide — to keep secret

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