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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 124 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. mark — a grade
  4. net — in sport
  5. face — to confront
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. content — happy
  8. field — for sport
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. face — to point toward
  12. ground — crushed
  13. net — after costs
  14. face — part of the head
  15. pound — a weight
  16. net — for catching
  17. field — a subject
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. field — farmland
  21. ground — the earth
  22. content — the amount
  23. mark — a trace
  24. hide — to keep secret

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