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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. face — to confront
  3. spring — of water
  4. drill — a practice
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. stand — to bear
  8. field — farmland
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. drill — the tool
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pit — in a race
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. spring — the season
  17. face — to point toward
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. deal — to handle
  20. drill — army training
  21. face — part of the head
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. spring — a coil
  24. deal — an agreement

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