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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. ground — the earth
  3. field — farmland
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. face — to confront
  8. face — to point toward
  9. stock — goods
  10. snap — to click
  11. ground — crushed
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. kick — in football
  16. face — part of the head
  17. ground — a position
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. fine — high quality
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. stock — shares

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