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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. field — farmland
  3. face — to confront
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. field — a subject
  6. race — humankind
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. rest — a break
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. face — part of the head
  12. field — for sport
  13. season — in sport
  14. spell — letters
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. season — of the year
  17. rest — what's left
  18. face — to point toward
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. rest — what's left
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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