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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. rock — music
  4. face — to point toward
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. rock — a stone
  8. pit — in a race
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. face — to confront
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pit — a hole
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. face — part of the head
  24. coach — a trainer

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