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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 116 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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. ground — a position
  4. ball — a dance
  5. field — a subject
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. track — a path
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cue — for pool
  10. game — a match
  11. track — a song
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cue — a hint
  14. ball — a great time
  15. ground — crushed
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. field — for sport
  18. track — to keep track
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cue — a signal
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. field — farmland

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