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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. stand — to bear
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. face — to point toward
  8. field — a subject
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wake — a trail
  16. face — to confront
  17. field — farmland
  18. tear — to rip
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — humankind
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. tear — from crying
  23. field — for sport
  24. racket — a loud noise

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