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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. ground — a position
  3. face — to point toward
  4. field — farmland
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. ground — crushed
  7. shower — rain
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. court — of law
  12. face — to confront
  13. field — a subject
  14. shower — to wash
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. ground — the earth
  17. fine — all right
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fine — high quality
  20. face — part of the head
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. court — of a king
  23. field — for sport
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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