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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. field — a subject
  5. face — to point toward
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. last — finally
  8. last — to go on
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. face — part of the head
  11. wake — a trail
  12. face — to confront
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. field — farmland
  15. field — for sport
  16. pound — a weight
  17. last — final
  18. stick — a piece of wood

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