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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. face — to point toward
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. board — a committee
  12. mark — a grade
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — to get on
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. field — a subject
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ground — a position
  20. field — for sport
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — crushed
  23. mark — a trace
  24. face — to confront

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