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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cap · hide · patient · field · racket · squash · wound · pop

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pop — music
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cap — a hat
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. field — farmland
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — for sport
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. wound — an injury
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wound — an injury

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