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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. clip — for paper
  5. clip — a video
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. court — of a king
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. court — of law
  11. stand — to bear
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pitch — completely
  15. field — for sport
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. field — farmland
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. court — for sport
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. clip — to cut
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. field — a subject

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