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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. ground — a position
  3. roll — a cake
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. ball — a dance
  8. clip — a video
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — to confront
  11. ground — the earth
  12. face — part of the head
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. roll — a list
  15. wound — an injury
  16. chest — a box
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ball — a great time
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stand — to bear

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