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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 120 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. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — part of the head
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. field — a subject
  6. perch — the fish
  7. stem — to come from
  8. field — farmland
  9. staff — a stick
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. clip — a video
  14. staff — employees
  15. fine — all right
  16. field — for sport
  17. fine — high quality
  18. face — to point toward
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. staff — employees
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. clip — for paper
  24. pitch — completely

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