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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bound — certain
  6. cold — not warm
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. face — to point toward
  14. face — to confront
  15. squash — the sport
  16. land — a country
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. land — ground
  20. bound — obliged
  21. squash — to crush
  22. field — a subject
  23. bound — tied together
  24. land — to come down

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