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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 had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. ball — a great time
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stand — to bear
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. face — to confront
  11. content — happy
  12. field — for sport
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. field — farmland
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. field — a subject
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bat — the animal
  24. content — the amount

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