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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's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. pitch — a sales talk
  2. kick — in football
  3. face — to point toward
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. face — to confront
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. field — for sport
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cell — in biology
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. ground — crushed
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. face — part of the head
  20. kid — to tease
  21. ground — a position
  22. kid — child
  23. field — farmland
  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