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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's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — for sport
  3. face — to point toward
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. rest — a break
  6. face — part of the head
  7. rest — what's left
  8. field — farmland
  9. mate — to breed
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. spring — a coil
  12. snap — to click
  13. rest — what's left
  14. face — to confront
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. spring — the season
  19. tear — to rip
  20. spring — of water
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. mate — a friend
  24. mate — a partner

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