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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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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 · hide · cell · bat · toast · fork · staff · face

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. staff — employees
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. staff — employees
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cell — a phone
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bat — the animal

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