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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: saw · field · ground · shower · stand · bat · rule · content

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. field — for sport
  5. content — the amount
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. ground — the earth
  9. shower — rain
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. ground — a position
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stand — to bear
  14. field — a subject
  15. ground — crushed
  16. shower — to wash
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. content — happy
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — government
  22. field — farmland
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. saw — the tool

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