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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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. kick — in football
  3. swing — music
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. field — farmland
  8. swing — in golf
  9. face — to point toward
  10. pound — a weight
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. field — a subject
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. field — for sport
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. face — part of the head
  20. plane — a tool
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. capital — a city
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. capital — money

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