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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: field · rest · cold · stand · arm · bowl · row · face

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cold — an illness
  6. rest — a break
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. face — to confront
  9. row — to paddle
  10. face — part of the head
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. row — a line
  19. rest — what's left
  20. field — for sport
  21. stand — to bear
  22. field — a subject
  23. field — farmland
  24. arm — part of the body

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