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

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. kid — child
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. field — for sport
  7. face — to point toward
  8. field — a subject
  9. cue — a hint
  10. land — ground
  11. ground — crushed
  12. face — part of the head
  13. land — a country
  14. cue — a signal
  15. face — to confront
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. cue — for pool
  20. field — farmland
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. land — to come down
  24. ground — the earth

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