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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — to point toward
  4. field — for sport
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. fork — in a road
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — thin

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