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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. face — to point toward
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. face — part of the head
  5. rush — hurry
  6. perch — the fish
  7. saw — the tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. degree — an amount
  10. bass — low music
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bass — the fish
  14. wind — moving air
  15. degree — temperature
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. field — a subject
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. degree — from a university
  24. face — to confront

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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