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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — a subject
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pit — a hole
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. pit — in a race
  9. field — for sport
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. ground — the earth
  15. plane — a tool
  16. face — to point toward
  17. game — a match
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ground — crushed
  20. field — farmland
  21. bound — tied together
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bound — certain

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