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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. face — to point toward
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. squash — the sport
  6. capital — money
  7. face — to confront
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. squash — to crush
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. capital — a city
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. deal — to handle
  16. ground — the earth
  17. file — a tool
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. field — a subject
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. field — farmland
  24. face — part of the head

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