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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. season — in sport
  3. key — in music
  4. field — a subject
  5. chest — of your body
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. track — a song
  8. track — to keep track
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chest — a box
  11. face — part of the head
  12. key — for a lock
  13. field — for sport
  14. face — to point toward
  15. ball — a great time
  16. track — a path
  17. face — to confront
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. chest — of your body
  21. season — of the year
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. field — farmland
  24. key — the most important part

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