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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: club · content · can · field · squash · bat · hide · wind

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. can — a tin
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. content — the amount
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. field — farmland
  14. wind — moving air
  15. field — for sport
  16. club — a group
  17. content — happy
  18. can — a tin
  19. field — a subject
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wind — moving air
  22. can — to be able to
  23. bat — the animal
  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