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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rule — a law
  4. ground — the earth
  5. field — for sport
  6. face — to point toward
  7. field — a subject
  8. face — to confront
  9. ground — a position
  10. court — for sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. rule — government
  13. ground — crushed
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. court — of a king
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. court — of law

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