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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. face — to point toward
  5. field — a subject
  6. content — happy
  7. degree — from a university
  8. net — in sport
  9. content — the amount
  10. staff — employees
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. net — after costs
  14. staff — a stick
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bat — the animal
  17. degree — temperature
  18. field — farmland
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. staff — employees
  22. face — part of the head
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. face — to confront

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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