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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. field — a subject
  3. season — in sport
  4. face — to point toward
  5. clip — to cut
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. mate — a friend
  8. charge — a price
  9. charge — in control
  10. field — for sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. season — of the year
  14. face — to confront
  15. charge — electricity
  16. prune — to trim
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. face — part of the head
  19. field — farmland
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mate — to breed

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