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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · hide · chest · bark · field · rest · mine · track

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  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. rest — a break
  2. field — farmland
  3. face — to point toward
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. track — a path
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. face — part of the head
  9. track — to keep track
  10. chest — a box
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. track — a song
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. field — a subject
  17. bark — to shout
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rest — what's left
  23. face — to confront
  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