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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 116 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: hide · field · mug · bat · chair · patient · pitch · race

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. pitch — completely
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. race — a contest
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. mug — a face
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bat — the animal
  10. mug — to rob
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. field — for sport
  15. race — humankind
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. mug — a cup
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. field — a subject
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. race — the arms race
  23. field — farmland
  24. hide — to keep secret

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