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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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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: bowl · cell · kick · hide · ground · spell · safe · bat

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bat — the animal
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. ground — crushed
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. ground — the earth
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. ground — a position
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — magic
  19. cell — in biology
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cell — a phone

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