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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. ground — a position
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. game — wild animals
  8. field — for sport
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. kick — in football
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. game — a match
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. ground — crushed
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. field — a subject
  23. ground — the earth
  24. hide — to keep secret

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