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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. chip — to eat
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. field — for sport
  5. chip — for betting
  6. field — a subject
  7. rock — a stone
  8. pitch — completely
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. ball — a great time
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. rock — music
  18. field — farmland
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cold — an illness

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