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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.

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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. face — to point toward
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. saw — the tool
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stock — shares
  8. wake — a trail
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. stock — goods
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. face — to confront
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. season — to add flavour

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