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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. face — to point toward
  3. stand — to bear
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. net — in sport
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. face — to confront
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. field — a subject
  16. stock — shares
  17. wake — a trail
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. field — farmland
  22. face — part of the head
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. chair — a leader

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