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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 116 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. field — for sport
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. wound — an injury
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. face — to point toward
  9. charge — in control
  10. charge — a price
  11. track — to keep track
  12. charge — electricity
  13. face — to confront
  14. track — a path
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. last — to go on
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. field — a subject
  20. track — a song
  21. wound — an injury
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. field — farmland

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