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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. face — part of the head
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. wake — a trail
  8. face — to point toward
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. game — wild animals
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. deal — to handle
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. board — to get on
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. face — to confront
  22. game — a match
  23. board — a committee
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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