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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: club · bat · face · hide · cabinet · field · spell · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. club — for dancing
  3. cell — a phone
  4. face — to point toward
  5. club — a group
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. spell — letters
  9. face — to confront
  10. field — farmland
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. field — a subject
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. club — for golf
  19. spell — magic
  20. field — for sport
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bat — the animal
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. spell — a short time

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