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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. race — humankind
  3. date — the fruit
  4. pit — in a race
  5. field — for sport
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. race — the arms race
  9. chest — of your body
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. land — ground
  13. land — a country
  14. pit — a hole
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — money
  18. race — a contest
  19. capital — a city
  20. land — to come down
  21. chest — a box
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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