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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. pit — a hole
  5. fine — high quality
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. plane — a tool
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. fine — all right
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. toast — bread
  20. pit — in a race
  21. file — a document
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. face — part of the head

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