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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. face — to confront
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. land — a country
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. land — to come down
  7. face — part of the head
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. face — to point toward
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. ball — a great time
  13. ball — a dance
  14. field — a subject
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. field — farmland
  17. land — ground
  18. ball — a round shape

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