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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 120 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. pit — a hole
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. field — a subject
  11. season — of the year
  12. fall — the season
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. fall — to drop
  15. field — for sport
  16. season — in sport
  17. face — to point toward
  18. row — to paddle
  19. field — farmland
  20. fall — to drop
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. face — to confront
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bowl — a dish

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