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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. cell — a phone
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — the earth
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. ground — crushed
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. field — a subject
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rash — a series
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. field — for sport
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. cell — in biology
  19. rash — hasty
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. safe — out of danger

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