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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 124 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. face — part of the head
  4. saw — the tool
  5. can — a tin
  6. face — to confront
  7. face — to point toward
  8. race — humankind
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. field — for sport
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. can — a tin
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — in sport
  17. can — to be able to
  18. race — the arms race
  19. net — for catching
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — a subject
  22. race — a contest
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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