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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. staff — employees
  3. wound — an injury
  4. staff — a stick
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ground — a position
  10. root — the cause
  11. face — to confront
  12. ground — crushed
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stand — to bear
  16. staff — employees
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — of a word
  19. face — part of the head
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. ground — the earth
  23. game — a match
  24. wound — an injury

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