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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. season — of the year
  3. field — a subject
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. face — to point toward
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. chest — a box
  10. season — in sport
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. face — to confront
  14. snap — to click
  15. foot — a measure
  16. field — for sport
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. face — part of the head
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rock — a stone
  21. chest — of your body
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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