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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: can · wound · drill · clip · cabinet · cell · field · bat

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. can — a tin
  3. field — farmland
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. clip — for paper
  8. drill — army training
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. wound — an injury
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — the tool
  13. can — to be able to
  14. clip — to cut
  15. can — a tin
  16. bat — the animal
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. field — a subject
  22. wound — an injury
  23. clip — a video
  24. field — for sport

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