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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. land — a country
  3. face — to confront
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. face — part of the head
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. chest — of your body
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cold — not warm
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. face — to point toward
  16. chest — a box
  17. land — to come down
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. land — ground
  24. field — for sport

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