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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 116 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. face — to point toward
  3. field — a subject
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. march — the month
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — farmland
  8. face — part of the head
  9. last — final
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. last — finally
  12. march — music
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. field — for sport
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — a line
  17. last — to go on
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. face — to confront
  21. row — to paddle
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. march — the month
  24. trunk — of a car

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