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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. track — a path
  3. ground — crushed
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. ground — the earth
  7. stand — to bear
  8. track — a song
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. present — the time now
  11. ground — a position
  12. wind — moving air
  13. face — to confront
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. plane — a tool
  17. cold — an illness
  18. present — a gift
  19. present — there
  20. track — to keep track
  21. wind — moving air
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. plane — in geometry

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