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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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 point toward
  3. field — a subject
  4. spring — of water
  5. pass — a permit
  6. field — for sport
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. field — farmland
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. bass — low music
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. face — to confront
  15. spring — a coil
  16. pitch — completely
  17. spring — the season
  18. pitch — a sports field

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