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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. ground — the earth
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. field — a subject
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spring — of water
  13. rash — a series
  14. fork — in a road
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. ground — a position
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. rash — hasty
  24. ground — crushed

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