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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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. spring — a coil
  3. face — to point toward
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. pitch — completely
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. spring — of water
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. face — part of the head
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — the season
  12. field — for sport
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. field — farmland
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. field — a subject
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. face — to confront
  21. tube — a container
  22. mine — for digging
  23. tube — the underground
  24. wind — to turn a key

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