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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: kid · perch · toast · field · mate · ground · face · wind

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. field — for sport
  3. mate — to breed
  4. kid — child
  5. face — to confront
  6. kid — to tease
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — a subject
  9. perch — the fish
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. toast — bread
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mate — a friend
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. ground — crushed
  17. ground — the earth
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ground — a position
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — moving air
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. face — to point toward

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