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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. face — part of the head
  3. field — for sport
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. net — in sport
  6. spell — magic
  7. file — a tool
  8. spell — a short time
  9. fall — the season
  10. ground — a position
  11. pitch — completely
  12. field — farmland
  13. fall — to drop
  14. file — a document
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. net — for catching
  17. fall — to drop
  18. face — to point toward
  19. net — after costs
  20. field — a subject
  21. file — a line of people
  22. face — to confront
  23. ground — crushed
  24. spell — letters

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