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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. field — a subject
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. spring — of water
  9. spell — letters
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. game — a match
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. field — farmland
  14. spell — a short time
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spell — magic
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. spring — the season
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. spring — a coil

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