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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. field — farmland
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. face — to confront
  5. ground — crushed
  6. band — a music group
  7. face — part of the head
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. plane — a tool
  11. track — a path
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. track — a song
  15. field — a subject
  16. lean — thin
  17. track — to keep track
  18. ground — a position
  19. face — to point toward
  20. lean — to bend
  21. ground — the earth
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. band — a ring
  24. field — for sport

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