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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. face — to confront
  6. land — a country
  7. field — for sport
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wound — an injury
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. game — a match
  12. bass — the fish
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — a subject
  15. game — wild animals
  16. field — farmland
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — to come down
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. bass — low music
  22. land — ground
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. cabinet — ministers

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