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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. dip — to sink
  6. face — to point toward
  7. file — a line of people
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. face — part of the head
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. face — to confront
  14. field — for sport
  15. key — in music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. file — a document
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bulb — for light
  21. file — a tool
  22. bulb — for light
  23. key — the most important part
  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