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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. field — farmland
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. face — to point toward
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. cell — a phone
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. field — a subject
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. field — for sport
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. face — to confront
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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