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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. court — of a king
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. ground — the earth
  8. field — a subject
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. ground — crushed
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. field — farmland
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. court — of law
  18. ground — a position
  19. court — for sport
  20. mine — for digging
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. field — for sport

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