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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. field — farmland
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. field — a subject
  7. cap — of ice
  8. plane — a tool
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. pitch — completely
  14. face — to point toward
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. cap — a hat
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. cap — a lid
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to confront
  23. dip — to sink
  24. field — for sport

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