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

Word bank: bore · face · field · ground · lean · dip · fall · squash

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. squash — the sport
  3. lean — thin
  4. field — for sport
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. squash — to crush
  7. face — part of the head
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bore — to tire
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ground — a position
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bore — to drill
  18. field — farmland
  19. ground — crushed
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. lean — to bend
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. dip — to sink

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