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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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. field — for sport
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. court — of law
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. band — a ring
  11. court — for sport
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. band — a music group
  15. field — a subject
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. field — farmland
  18. court — of a king
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. stand — to bear
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. stand — on your feet

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