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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. net — in sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — to point toward
  5. ball — a great time
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — all right
  8. face — part of the head
  9. field — farmland
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. net — for catching
  12. field — for sport
  13. fine — high quality
  14. ball — a dance
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. net — after costs
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — a subject

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