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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. face — to confront
  7. track — a song
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. field — a subject
  10. face — part of the head
  11. field — for sport
  12. track — to keep track
  13. pit — a hole
  14. game — wild animals
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. face — to point toward
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. field — farmland
  21. game — a match
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. pit — in a race
  24. track — a path

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