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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 hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. squash — to crush
  3. ground — the earth
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. face — part of the head
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. net — for catching
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. squash — the sport
  12. ground — a position
  13. face — to confront
  14. ground — crushed
  15. face — to point toward
  16. wake — a trail
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. plane — a tool
  21. net — after costs
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. field — a subject
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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